To Touch Without Feeling
by Lady-Hand-Grenade
Summary: Rogue has a killer kiss but Remy's not afraid of a little bit of danger, especially when it involves a beautiful girl. Their encounter is brief but intense... and the first of many.
1. A Womans Touch

Ok, the first Fan Fic that I'm actually placing on this site. Now, before we begin I would first like to apologize for the complete _crappiness _of this story. Well, not complete but I know it's not exactly brilliant. I was having majors writers block and this was what i did to try and get rid of it. Also, I was sitting in an uncomfortable chair. I just don't do well in uncomfortable chairs. Anyway, I hope you still give it a chance.

I also apologize with my half-assed job of a Cajun accent. I could usually do a bit better but I wrote this in about 20 minutes and couldn't be bothered fine-tuning when I edited it.

I still hope you all read, enjoy, rate and review this nonetheless.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Marvel, The X-Men or any of the characters you see here.

* * *

This wasn't where he wanted to be. This wasn't who he was. This hadn't been his decision. So why was he going to go through with it?

It wasn't to bring peace between the two Guilds. It was because Bella Donna had been his friend since he was young and she wanted this.

So he was going through with it. For her. Not because he loved her but because it was about time she was happy. Their lives had been hard enough; it was about time she'd got a break.

But what about him? Remy LeBeau just was not the marrying type. And as he stared at himself in the mirror wearing his black and white tuxedo, his chest filled with disgust. He wasn't the formal-wear type either.'

Behind him the door opened and his soon-to-be Stepbrother Julien Boudreaux stepped in. The expression on his face made it clear that he wasn't here for a friendly heart-to-heart. He had something important on his mind. Remy turned around to face him, looking serious and prepared but there was still a hint of amusement in his flashing scarlet eyes.

"Remy," Julien greeted him sombrely with a nod of the head "Getting ready?"

Gambit raised one eyebrow quizzically

"Well, unless there's anot'er reason for meh to be wearin' a tux" He replied, smirking swiftly.

"You better not screw this up, LeBeau" Julien hissed, menacingly "Because if my sister gets hurt…"

"Yah not afraid of li'l ol' Remy LeBeau doin' a runner are yah, Julien? Worried Ah'll break Bella's heart?" Remy cut in stepping forward. His smugness was not unnoticed by Julien who felt a sense of irritation at his superior attitude. What was he up to?

"I'm not kidding. You pull any funny stuff and I will hunt you down and make you pay," He said furiously yet quietly so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Ya don' scare meh, Julian" Remy said turning back around to look at his reflection "Yah can leave now" He added but Julian didn't move, just stared with furious eyes. Remy turned his head to the side and stared right back with one of his eyes. "Aren' we done talkin' now? Or is there somethin' yah wanted to add?"

Julien turned back around and opened the door slightly and exited. But before he shut the door behind him, he gave Remy one last look

"I don't trust thieves, Remy. But it seems Bella does and if this is going to make her happy… just remember my warning" And with these parting words, he pulled the door shut behind him. Remy stood unmoving as he stared at the reflection of the door in his mirror before grinning sneakily.

_Well, sorry to disappoint you Julian._

* * *

"Hmm… ok, how about this one?"

"Red and white stripes? Are you kidding? You'd look like a candy cane!"

"Hmmm… I guess… ok what about this one? And maybe with that Jacket over there?"

"Orange isn't really your colour Kitty…what about this?"

"Ooh, I like that? What do you think Rogue? Rogue?"

"Huh?" Came Rogue's drowsy reply as she snapped out of her reverie. She looked up at Kitty who was staring at her with an impatient look and Jubilee who was holding up a blue off-the-shoulder top. Kitty sighed and the two exchanged looks with each other.

"We were wondering what you think of this shirt for Kitty?" Jubilee said, holding the top up.

"Oh…um… sure. It looks good" She replied with a shrug. Kitty frowned

"Rogue, are you feeling alright? You seem so out of it lately…" She asked, putting a sympathetic hand on her friends shoulder.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just…uh… problems with Bobby, y'know," She said, looking away.

"Wanna talk about it?" Jubilee asked, concerned. Rogue shook her head vigorously.

"Nah, I think I'll just go get some coffee and sit down. I'll see you guys back at the Mansion" She said, already stepping toward the door.

"Ok. See ya then" Came their uncertain replies. She gave a reassuring wave before leaving the store with a sigh.

She didn't like hiding things from her friends but sometimes there were just things that one needed to keep to themselves.

There had just been so much going on in her mind at the moment. And yes, Bobby was one of those things. Of course, it wasn't surprising that their relationship had complications. After all, how well did she expect things to keep going with her inability to touch him being such an obstacle? Of course, Bobby was too nice a guy to directly state that this was becoming a problem but Rogue wasn't stupid. What good was a relationship where every time they kissed, she drained his energy?

She found herself outside of Starbucks and went and ordered herself an extra sweet cappuccino. Although, coffee was the last thing she needed, as she was practically a borderline insomniac these days but sometimes a girl just needs her dose of Caffeine.

Once she'd got her drink, she walked back outside and continued up the street, not heading for a particular destination. Just giving herself time to think.

Of course, Bobby wasn't the only thing on her mind. Her sleeping pattern was all over the place. Most of the night was spent awake and every time she did fall asleep, her dreams were haunted from memories that were not her own. And then suddenly she was awake again with a massive headache.

Why did her powers have to be such a nuisance? It was bad enough that she couldn't touch and now it was keeping her awake at night. Gift? More like curse.

Rogue was abruptly pulled away from her depressing thought as she felt herself collide with something solid. She gave a muffled cry out as she tumbled backwards and onto her backside, her drink falling from her grasp and spilling all over the sidewalk.

"Hey!" She said angrily, looking up at the guy who'd ran into her "Watch where you're going!"

But he didn't seem to be listening and continued to walk right by her without saying sorry. Muttering angrily under her breath, Rogue got back to her feet, her hand throbbing slightly with pain. She glared angrily after the man before looking back down at her spilled coffee. She sighed and cast a glance around. Lucky for her, there was another coffee shop right across the road. She made her way toward it, reaching for her wallet in her pocket as she did so. But her pocket was empty. She stopped in her tracks and tried all her other pockets to double check but to no avail. She felt a twinge of panic and tried to recall if she'd left it in Starbucks. But she could remember tucking it safely in her jacket and there was no way she'd dropped it because no matter how distracted she was, she would've noticed.

Suddenly, her twinge of panic turned to fury as she remembered colliding harshly with someone. Of course, there's no way that could've been accidental, she was the only one on the street. He couldn't have not seen her walking.

Turning swiftly on her heel, Rogue sprinted in the direction he'd gone in. There was no way she was letting him get away; there had been over $70 in there! With heavy breaths, she quickened her pace even more, turning a corner. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she saw the back of the man ahead of her. She could tell because he was wearing a long brown trench coat, which she'd been staring at when he ran into her.

"Hey!" She called out, "Hey, you! Get back here!" But he didn't seem able to hear her. She was soon a few metres behind him, which was when she slowed back into a brisk walk. He still hadn't noticed her until finally she reached up and grabbed his shoulder, jerking his backwards.

"Wha' the hell…" He muttered turning around to face the furious look on Rogue's features. The large sunglasses made him look even more suspicious.

"You! You stole my wallet, you thief!" She said, stepping forward menacingly "Give it back!"

The man just raised his eyebrows at her and smirked

"Remy didn' steal nothin'. Yah migh' want proof before yah go 'round accusing people of things they didn' do" he said in an arrogant voice

"Of course it was you, do you see anyone else around here wearing a brown trench coat!" Rogue replied, angrily "Now you better give it back or I'll…" But before she could finish her sentence, the guy- 'Remy' as he called himself- hushed her looking, around warily. Although displeased about it, she fell silent and looked around curiously. Suddenly, appearing out of the alleyway just behind them came three men.

"Huh?" Rogue said, spinning around to face them. "What-"

But Remy wasn't listening. He just rolled his eyes sceptically at the men before him

"I was beginnin' to wonder when you were gonna show up, Julian. Was startin' to think yah'd given up on meh"

"You still have the chance to fix things, Remy," He said threateningly.

"Ah'm not afraid of you. Ah've already told ya that," Remy said, still remaining completely calm.

"Oh yeah?" The guy- Julian- said, his eyes landing on Rogue who'd been silently watching from beside Remy. "And whose you little friend here, LeBeau?" He said, smirking and Rogue, intimidated by his gaze, took a step back.

"No idea," Remy replied, breezily "Don' know her. So there's no use gettin' her caught up in all this"

"Oh really?" Julian said, looking smug now as he pulled a gun out from his belt. Rogue recoiled. "Then I guess you won't mind if I…"

"This is between us. Leave her outta this" Remy growled. Julien laughed.

"But if you don't know her, then it shouldn't matter, right" he replied tauntingly.

"It does if an innocen' bystander gets hurt" Remy replied warningly. Julien just laughed again and aimed the gun toward them both. Instinctively, Remy stepped in front of Rogue who felt a pang of irritation by being turned into the Damsel in Distress.

"I warned you about breaking Bella's heart, Remy" Julien said, his finger tightening on the trigger. Suddenly, surprisingly Remy smirked, his hand reaching into his pocket

"An' I told ya, I ain' afraid of you" He said and with one quick movement he brandished a playing card: Ace of Spades. It glowed a light red before he spun it at Julien who ducked down as the thing exploded. Thinking quickly, Remy grabbed Rogue's arm and pulled her into a run down the street.

"What. The. Hell!" Rogue shrieked between breaths. All she'd wanted was her wallet and now she was being dragged away from angry assassins by a strange mutant. This was just not her day. Just as they turned a corner, Remy yanked her into a small alley to the side. He peered up and down the street before relaxing, although only slightly.

"They'll find us soon" He murmured, more to himself than her

"Us?" Rogue said angrily, prying herself from his grip, "Oh no, I think you mean you. I'm only here because I want my money back!"

"Well, here ya go then," He said, tossing her wallet at her. She caught it and tucked it back into her pocket. "Ya can leave if ya really want but I don' expect they'd let ya get very far."

"Well, I can look after myself thank-you-very-much" She said irritated but didn't move. Remy turned around to look at her, his sunglasses flashing from the light on the street

"Against these guys? Don' count on it, petite" He replied, quietly. Rogue just stared at him before rolling her eyes

"Well, they're you're problem not mine so I'll just be on my way." But before she could leave, her path was blocked by Julian, smirking triumphantly.

"Cornered yourself I see, LeBeau. I think you might be losing your touch," He said and turned to his two partners "Get the girl"

"Oh great" Rogue muttered as the two men grabbed her by each arm, gripping tightly. "Ouch!" She said harshly but it only made them tighten their hold even more. She struggled a bit but it wasn't much use. These guys were two strong for her.

Julien raised his handgun up to Remy's head.

"You wouldn' kill ya sisters fiancé, would ya Julien?" He asked, his voice not showing an ounce of the fear that was beginning to brew in his stomach. Julien pushed the cold metal harshly against his skull

"No, but I would kill the guy who walked out on her" He hissed, preparing himself to pull the trigger. A wicked grin made its way across his face.

Rogue felt a surge of panic. She didn't know this Remy LeBeau but she wasn't going to let him die. Besides, unless she did something there was no doubt she'd be next. In two quick motions she pulled the gloves off on both her hands. Just as the two men holding her back turned curiously to see what she was doing, she'd already grabbed the exposed flesh on each of their arms. It wasn't long before they'd each fallen to the ground. Before Julien could look around at her, she'd already placed a hand around his neck. Flashes of his memory crossed her mind as the gun slid from his weakened grip. A few moments later he slumped unconscious at her feet. With a satisfied smile, Rogue pulled her gloves back on. As much as she hated them, her powers did have their useful moment. She turned back around, now facing Remy who had a look of mild surprise over his features.

"I told you I could look after myself," She said, resting her hands on her hips. His surprised look turned into a grin and he shrugged

"Well, Ah guess ya proved meh wrong then" He said, sounding impressed.

"They're not going to stay out for long so unless you wanna stick around and get shot…" Rogue added, looking down at the three unconscious bodies.

"Gotcha" He said and she followed him speedily out of the alleyway and down the street. Once they'd turned a corner and were quite a while away, he turned to her and stepped forward. On instinct she took one back, pressing herself against the wall behind her. Remy looked amused and promptly took another step forward so that they were inches apart.

"Ah don' believe Ah've introduced myself. Ah'm Remy LeBeau"

Rogue gazed suspiciously at him, her own eyes reflected in his glasses. She hesitated before simply saying

"I figured that out by myself"

"Well, I guess tha' means yah don' wanna tell meh yah name. Still, it's been a pleasure meetin' ya, chere. I jus' wish it were under better circumstances" He said, slyly. He was standing way too close for comfort, in Rogue's opinion, especially since this guy had robbed her not long ago but she didn't say anything.

"So, Ah'm guessin' yah're a mutant too?" He questioned and Rogue just replied with a nod.

"And what migh' your gift be, chere?" Rogue just blinked, breathing in deeply. She felt a shiver go up her spine.

"What I can do…ain't a gift" She said, her voice barely above a whisper as she slipped off one of her gloves again. She raised her bare hand and placed it tenderly over his lips. She saw flashes from his mind and just before he slumped to the ground, she whispered

"My name is Rogue, by the way…"

* * *

And there you have it! The first chapter is done. I hope you enjoyed it, despite the fact that it was a writers-block cure. Please Rate and review anyway. I'd love to hear some feedback.

No flames though, please. Constructive critisism I'm ok with though.

Lady-Hand-Grenade


	2. Choices

Oh wow, it had been WAY too long.

I'm really sorry that it has taken me so long to get this chapter out! I kept writing it then starting again because I didn't like how it was coming out. I've been having some major writers block lately. But still, thank you all so much for the nice comments. And I really tried to listen to some of the excellent constructive criticism I was given.

Anyway, this one and the next are both lacking in some action and a certain Cajun thief for that matter but it'll come. I'm still not sure about the beginning part of this chapter because I wrote it a while ago however I think I did a lot better with the rest, although there's a lot to do with Rogue's thoughts and decisions but it's just a big part of the story.

So please enjoy, rate and review and don't forget that constructive criticism! I need it to improve my skills. Thanks again for all your kind words!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Marvel, The X-Men or any of the characters you see here.

* * *

She was _supposed_ to be learning about Shakespeare

She _should_ be listening to Storm teach them about it

She _could_ have been thinking about her never-ending relationship troubles

However all she _was_ thinking about was how long it was going to take M and Husk to tell her what it was that they seemed to be dying to ask her, from what she'd gathered from their insistent whispers. Finally, she felt a sharp rather annoying jab to the shoulder, causing her to heave an exasperated sigh.

"Rogue!" Husk whispered to her, poking her again. After several more jabs, Rogue finally gave in and turned around.

"What?" She breathed, her teeth clenched angrily together. M smirked, glancing at the girl beside of her.

"So, we heard you were thinking of taking the cure" She said, smugly, while Husk sniggered. "Is it true?"

Rogue clenched her eyes shut irritably and turned back around. Of course, what had she expected them to ask? Hoping despairingly that they would just give up and leave her alone, she focused back to her open blank page. However, they weren't going to be silenced that easily

"So, it is?" Husk shrieked with laughter "You're really going to throw away who you are just so you and Bobby can…" But her words were interrupted by Kitty's furious outburst

"Oh shut up, Paige, and mind your own business! Not everybody has got it as easy as you do!" She hissed as she turned to face them, attracting the attention of the students nearby. Rogue's face flushed in embarrassment over the unwanted attention however she was pleased in knowing that her friends seemed ok with supporting her curiosity in the Cure. Jubilee also turned to face the three, glaring at M who returned her icy stare

"Yeah, it's so easy for you to judge. I mean, not all of our powers are simply being perfect like yours, _Monet_," She said, grinning snidely as M's face went red. Rogue cleared her throat, staring down at her desk as she nudged her two friends in the side. They spun back around to face the incriminating gazes of the rest of the class. Kitty went bright red, and averted her gaze but Jubilee just shrugged nonchalantly.

"While I'm sure what you five girls have to discuss is very important, I must ask you to save it until after class" Storm said, sternly and Rogue felt relieved as everyone turned back to the work. But M wanted to get the last word in so as the bell rang and the rest of the class gathered things, her harsh whisper did not go unnoticed.

"Traitor"

Rogue felt her face drain and her head get woozy. Traitor? To mutants? Just because she was sick of absorbing everyone she touched, sick of being taunted about it? Was this the choice she had, stay and be forever plagued with poison skin but with the reward of respect between her equals or finally be given the chance to feel the soft comfort of another persons flesh without being overwhelmed by thoughts not her own but be outcasted by mutants and considered a traitor? She wanted to slip off her gloves and how those girls just how much damage her power could do but just as the thought crossed her mind, Kitty, who mustn't have heard the last comment, grabbed her elbow and they walked out of the classroom. Not even listening as Jubilee ranted furiously about 'the nerve of some people', she tried to settle her racing heart. Whatever she chose to do was her choice and at least she had her friends to back her up.

"Hey… Rogue" Jubilee said, as though she'd just realised something "About… the cure…" Her cheeks were flushed and she was purposely averting her eye, staring intently down at the ground.

"What about it?" She murmured quietly, noticing that Kitty was also looking determinedly away from her.

"You… you're not really going… well… _get it_, right? I mean… are you?" Her words were rushed and cluttered and she cast a wary glance at her friend. Kitty remained quiet and it was obvious that she had been wondering the same thing.

It took a moment for their words to hit her but once they did, Rogue felt like the wind had just be knocked out of her. She took a gasp of breath as fury flared up inside her, her eyes flashing dangerously. Had they even meant all the stuff they'd said in her defence?

"What does it matter if I do?" She said, viciously, her expression offended and betrayed. Jubilee flinched "I mean, that _is_ what you said before, right? Or was that just so you could get into a fight with M?"

"She didn't mean it like that…" Kitty said, her tone edged with desperation but Rogue was sick of listening to them

"Save it," She snapped, "You have no idea. _No idea_. I just want to… I would do anything to have powers like yours! Instead of…" Tears stung at the back of her eyes but she clenched her teeth together, desperate not to walk out of this like that. She shook her head, long two-toned hair falling over her face. "Just forget it." Her words were quieter now, hurt. "At least I finally know how you guys feel," She added before storming off, ignoring the curious stares of people nearby. She just wanted to get as far away from everyone as she possibly could. If only she had a power that could let her do _that _instead.

"Rogue, wait!" Kitty called after her but she was already gone.

* * *

It was 10:00 at night when finally returned to her dorm. She'd missed her last two classes of the day and hadn't seen anyone since she'd stormed off towards the Lake, but the isolation had given her time to think about her situation with little conclusion. Her heart urged her to go through with the Cure, forget everyone else and their opinions and just give in. After all, she wanted so desperately to touch again but the fear of being abandoned by her new 'family' held her back. Husk was wrong. It had nothing to do with Bobby. Yes, she craved the lingering touch of his lips against hers but there was so much more to it. Bobby was just a high school boyfriend and she'd never base such a big decision on their complications but what about the future? What about every other person she'd ever meet, some friends and some something more than that? How could she live with the knowledge that all she would ever cause them was hurt? The mutation was in her skin; maybe it would never be controlled. And she just couldn't deal with being hopeful for the rest of her life, only to die in regret. But she'd been a mutant for so long and Xavier's was her home. She didn't want to leave that, but she knew she might be forced to if she was human. And what if she did get the cure and then regretted it? She might never be able to turn back. 

So many questions. She just didn't know what to do. She was afraid; afraid of losing everything she had and afraid of never getting a chance at what she could have.

Kitty, who Rogue shared the dorm with, wasn't there and Rogue was glad. Her friend had been going through some homesickness and spent a lot of time wandering the halls to clear her head about this time so it wasn't surprising. But she didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment.

She tugged uncomfortably at her gloves as she walked over and took a seat next to the window. She wished there was another way that she could… no, she didn't want to think about it. She was done thinking about it for the day she just wanted a break. Deciding she may as well do some homework to pass the time, she pulled the books up from under the drawer. She flipped open her textbook but before she could focus and start reading, loud laughter caught her attention. It floated through the opened window, which was blocked by the closed curtains. Warily, Rogue pulled one of them up and peered outside. She followed the noise of the laughter to the fountain below, which was frozen to ice with two people skating along the surface. She was about to turn away when she recognised the girl of the two, her brown her whipping around her face and her all-too familiar voice leaping up.

"Aren't you supposed to be the King of Ice, Bobby?" She giggled and Rogue switched her gaze to the light-haired boy, her heart sinking. She watched her boyfriend stumble slightly and Kitty burst into another fit of giggles.

"Hey, give a guy a moment to get used to it" Bobby defended himself, playfully. Rogue felt her head go light as Kitty started skating circles around the boy. She had spent the entire day missing and this was what her best friend and boyfriend did in her absence? _Go skating!?_

Her heart stung. She knew that they were just two friends enjoying each other's company but how could not be upset? Shouldn't they have been looking for her? Worried about her? But had the thought of her outburst earlier even crossed their minds?

No, she was being silly. She was just looking for excuses. Reasons to get mad and blame people for things they didn't do.

But as she watched Kitty spin around on the ice, chestnut hair landing perfectly in place, laughter ringing, how could any guy resist? And Bobby was a guy with a girlfriend he couldn't even touch, surely the attraction would be there?

No, they would never do this to her. Bobby would never… and Kitty certainly wouldn't…

But as Kitty glided across the ice, one of her skates got caught on something and she stumbled forward. Almost automatically, Bobby's arms shot out and caught her, arms gripping her bare wrists as he helped her back into balance, their contact nothing intimate and nothing more than friendly motion, but still a touch nonetheless…

Rogue dropped the curtain, her heart racing her breathing short and shallow. She knew they were only two people having fun together, she knew they would never _ever_ hurt her like that and she knew had nothing to worry about because they were more than just her friends, they were her family and everything she had.

But something in her had clicked. And now she was certain. Now she was ready…

* * *

And that's it for this chapter! But there's one that I'm putting up right after this. I would have just put the two together but I just loved the way this sounded as an ending so I split them.Lady Hand Grenade 


	3. Two Steps Forward

Still no action or Remy yet. But this all leads up to something, I swear!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Marvel, The X-Men or any of the characters you see here.

* * *

It took her a surprisingly short time to pack. She didn't know how long she would be gone but she included a few extra changes of clothing (Gloves included), enough money to get by on and a few books to read on her journey. She scanned her room for anything else to add but everything she saw seemed completely useless, so she put on her trademark green coat, slung her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the door. On her way, a picture in a silver frame by the door caught her eye. It was of her, Bobby, Kitty, Jubilee and Piotr on a sunny Spring day the previous year. They were sitting on the edge of the same fountain that Kitty and Bobby were skating around, Jubilee at the end, leaning back against her hands with her hair done up in a funky 'do. She was smiling at the camera and looked as casually cool as she always did. Next to her, the muscular Pete stood out, his notebook in his hand and his grin wide, eyes shining with glee. To his left was Kitty who was almost leaning into him, head thrown back in laughter, one leg straight out in front of her and the other bent against her with her hands resting on it. It was beside her that Rogue sat, her short-sleeved shirt accompanied by long gloves so there was minimum skin showing. Her hair was flicked into her eyes slightly by the breeze, but not hiding her green eyes which were sparkling with happiness as she looked up at Bobby who had his arm casually slung over her, blonde hair attractively messy, staring at the camera as he laughed along with the rest. Rogue gave a small smile as she stared wistfully down at the photo before the pang that shot through her heart wiped it away. She moved to leave the room again but stopped in the middle of the doorway. Making up her mind, she turned and pulled the photo roughly out of the frame, shoving it into her pocket as she left.

The halls were empty, not surprising at this time of night, so she had no interruption on her hurry to get out. It wasn't until she reached the front doors and thought she was finally home free did someone appear.

"You heading off, kid?" Rogue froze, releasing the breath she'd been holding in for almost the entire trip through the mansion. Of course, how could she have forgotten about Logan, she knew about his bouts of insomnia. But there was no way she could've avoided him anyway, she'd have been faced with him eventually. But she still clenched her eyes shut and stayed silent, waiting for the lecture.

But only silence came. She waited, but so did he. Finally she answered

"Well, what can I say? Everyone was expecting it and I figured, what's the point in keeping them waiting? Might give them hope that I won't turn out to be a…" Her voice cracked. She couldn't bring herself to say the very word that Monet had uttered to her less than 24- hours ago. But she didn't need to finish because it seemed Logan had something to say too

"I hope you're not doing this for some boy" He said, and she turned her head sharply so she was looking behind at him. She planted a determined look on her face.

"No, I'm not." She said, softly but boldly, "I'm doing it for me. I want to…I mean, I…I might never get to… I just need the chance to…to…" She struggled to find the right words but he just held up his hand

"I understand," He said and she breathed out in frustration because he didn't. Not really. And she had to make sure he did.

"No, you've got to let me say this. I have to make sure you know. I'm doing this because… because it's all I've ever wanted. To touch. And not just Bobby either. Anyone. A stranger, a friend, someone more than that. I hate hurting people. I hate…I don't want to…" She took another deep breath, stumbling over her words again. She turned her ahead back in front of her, staring out at the large gates that were barely visible in the dark night.

"You don't know what it's like to be afraid of your powers." She said, her eyes fluttering shut again. "Be afraid to get close to anybody. I want to be able to touch people. A hug. A handshake. A kiss." She thought of David, who had been put into a coma because of her kiss. She thought of Bobby who had been so good to her and so patient but was still only human. She thought of everyone she'd ever met whom she'd had to distance herself from because she didn't want them to get hurt. But she was done with that. Logan stood quietly for a moment and she waited desperately for his words.

"I understand," he firmly repeated and relief flooded into her. She'd been so afraid that he might be disappointed or ashamed but now she knew it was ok. She knew she was doing the right thing. But still, she was confused. She turned around and faced him completely, her puzzlement written across her face

"Shouldn't you be stopping me? Telling me to go back upstairs and unpack?" She asked, gripping hr bag tightly. Logan chuckled humourlessly

"I'm not your father, kid. I'm your friend," He said, almost sternly and Rogue smiled because, although it was true, she knew that he was still the closest thing she'd ever have to a Guardian. And she was ok with that. "This is your choice" He continued "You can go if you want, just make sure it's what _you_ want."

Rogue nodded. She was sure. Before she went to leave, she reached for the long chain that hung over her neck, fingers resting on the cool metal of Logan's dog tags that he'd given to her so long ago and that she wore constantly. She pulled it off and he caught it with ease

"I'll be coming back for those" She grinned, repeating the same words he'd used on her. He stared down at them before throwing them over his neck.

"Take care of yourself, Rogue," He said, seriously. She turned towards the door before doing a double take

"It's Marie," She corrected, almost shyly and he repeated the name as though testing how it sounded, his last farewell to her before she walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

She wanted to be Marie again, leave Rogue behind as she walked down the path toward the gate. But she knew she just couldn't leave her there, she would always be the Rogue who turned up in the snow accompanied by a berserk stranger. At least until she got the cure. Perhaps after that she'd get another chance and start all over again. That would be nice.

* * *

The bus ride to the train station had been long and uncomfortable. She hated sitting in the shadows, alone, with so few other people on the ride. But it was the silence that had killed her the most. It's easy to pretend you're invisible on a noisy bus but when no one talks, paranoia sneaks up and crawls under your skin. It felt like everyone was watching one another, wary and distrustful and Rogue hated it. She felt self-conscious in her covering clothing but still wary of even the minor exposure of her flesh. It was a relief to finally get onto the Train Station, which was still mobbed with crowds at this time of the night.

Pulling her hood over her head, Rogue scanned the times of trains, looking for one that could get her to San Francisco as quickly as possible. She found one leaving in 15 minutes and hurried over to buy a ticket. The line was short, luckily, and she searched her pockets for change.

"Um, Hi" Rogue said politely to the lady, who looked at her heavy clothing strangely. Rogue averted her gaze to the money she'd laid out in front of the counter

"I'd like to buy a ticket to San Francisco, 11:00, please" She said quietly, pushing the coins forwards. The lady's look turned from serious to suspicious and she took her time picking up the coins

"San Francisco?" She repeated and Rogue nodded "That's been a popular destination the past week. Especially among mutants" The last comment was almost scathing but Rogue said nothing, just wanting to get away, "That's where the cure is, isn't it? Warren Worthington Labs or something?" Rogue's cheeks flushed

"Something like that, I think. Not really sure" Rogue said in attempted causality. "I'm just going to visit some old friends. So, do you think I could have my ticket, please?"

The lady held it out but didn't quite let go when Rogue went to take it. Looking her from head to toe once more, right to her leather gloves

"Such odd clothing for this kind of weather…" she said, quietly. Desperate to get away, Rogue yanked at the ticket, pulling it out of her hands and turned away, forcing one last half-smile before getting out of sight. She pace quickened as she made her way through the station before finally reaching Platform 8 and boarding the train with 5 minutes to spare.

She was quick to secure herself an empty compartment, and grateful too because the idea of having to talk to or even look at anyone made her feel sick. Funny, how she'd had a whole day to herself but still wanted more. She wondered if Kitty had come back to their room yet, surprised to find Rogue still missing. Would she be worried? Perhaps she'd wait it out till morning in case she returned but when she didn't she'd alert Storm. But of course, Logan would probably have already informed her. Then the news would spread fast- Rogue had finally caved and run off to be normal. She prayed that by the time she returned they'd have found it in their hearts to understand. Or, if they couldn't, at least pretend.

The train began to move and Rogue faced the window, watching the train station flew past, fading behind her, just like everything she'd even known was. The closer she got to the cure and being normal, the further she was from Xavier's and being a mutant. The thought of it gave her shivers.

Her decision may have seemed quick and spontaneous but she knew she'd made the right decision. She didn't want to turn around and go back, choose a different path. Just because her leaving had been a bit impromptu didn't mean she hadn't thought it out. She'd always known it was going to end up this way; she just needed a little push.

She should probably thank Bobby and Kitty for that when she returned.

Outside it was dark but the train was surprisingly warm so Rogue slipped off her coat, and, after a moment's consideration, her gloves too. She was beginning to grow tired and hated to sleep all bundled up. Besides, she was alone in the compartment so it was unlikely for anyone to bother her. She just needed time to rest, get some energy back. Folding her clothes into a pile, she placed them at the foot of the seat, leaning her head down as she lifted her legs up, stretching the along the cushions. She rested her head against the spare clothes, her eyes fluttering shut. The sound of the cluttering train fell level to the buzzing in her own mind and soon everything melted away to be replaced by nothing but a restless sleep.

* * *

A short chapter, I know but it was originally going to be part of the second but I liked the ending that was there.

So there we go! Please Rate and Review and I'll try to have more up as soon as I can!

Lady Hand Grenade xo


	4. Paint and the XForce

Yeah, wow, I guess I'm stilll alive...

All I can say is... sorry. Sorry that I've been soo slow getting this chapter out (like I am with most chapters in this story) and also sorry because I'm realy unsue about how I wrote this. Not exactly the direction, because know where I'm going with it, but just how I put it into words. Especially towards the end, I feel like it really began failing. I just hope nobody finds this really disappointing or anything. Most of it was written at 2 a.m... Well, there's not much else to say, so here it is. Love it or hate it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Marvel, The X-Men or any of the characters you see here.

* * *

_It was nighttime, as far as she could tell. It was almost pitch black, in fact. Her eyes were unfocused so she couldn't see even a faint outline in the dark, making it impossible to tell whether she was inside or outside. At the moment, all she could think about was the searing hot pain that burned through her brain, stinging the back of her eyes._

_Where was she? What was happening? She couldn't think straight._

_Her balance was tilted and she tumbled to the side, colliding roughly with something that made a loud 'CLANG' noise, something metal. Deciding it was a trash can and that she was outside, perhaps in an alleyway, she struggled to get back to her feet. But the throbbing in her head only intensified and she brought her hands to her head, dirt-stained fingers gripping her hair. With her thoughts scattered and unfocused around her own mind, it took her a moment to realise that the locks in her hands weren't like that of her own. Only once she managed to get back some concentration did she notice. It was shorter and she tried to pull it over her eyes to see but couldn't. It was like she had no control over herself. This wasn't her at all. There was nothing she could do to change it. This was no more than a re-run, it had already happened. And she wasn't the lead role; she was just an observer, the audience with a first-person view._

_It certainly felt real though. No doubt about that._

_The pain was getting worse. She- or whoever she was anyway- reached out to grab hold of something, fingertips making contact with cold metal, the trashcan lid. Not long after the contact, she felt something erupt inside her and suddenly the pain was lessening as though being poured out of her to be replaced with relief. But next to her, a flash of red light stood out in the night and her relief was twisted into panic as the entire lid was lit up with a blinding ruby colour. She could almost feel this person thinking fast, quickly grabbing the lid and throwing it ahead. While it was still in the air, the whole the exploded, illuminating the area and nearly blinding the thrower. A rush of air and heat hit her and her eyes were clenched shut, the pain slowly returning. A scream of frustration was released from her lungs, in a voice she didn't recognize. A male voice. He buried his face into his hands, struggling to breathe. Approaching footsteps caught his attention and he looked up, the sights that she was sharing with him landed on the tall and dark figure standing, visible even when nothing else was._

"_Who t'ere?" His voice was croaky and cracked. The figure just gave a small chuckle_

"_I think you know" They finally said, their tone as intimidating as their stance. She didn't recognise them but whoever she was looking through sure did, and he wasn't happy about their presence_

"_Can' y' take no fer an answer?" He growled, lowering his head. The figure didn't move_

"_You are losing control of your abilities" Their voice was stern now "There's too much energy running through you. Everything you touch will explode and sooner or later, everything you look at too!" They paused, taking a breath as this information was processed. She could feel the man shift but thought it would not be noticed in the dark. It wasn't._

"_I can help you," The figure continued, his voice now hushed and intense "I can lessen the amount of energy that runs through you. It would make you significantly less powerful, yes, but it would give you control"_

_She knew the offer was being considered and a part of her knew that this dark figure couldn't be trusted. Perhaps her doubt came from the man because he said nothing and the figure filled the silence with more words_

"_If you keep going the way you are, it will only get worse. Everything you see will explode. The pain in your head, it's not going away. Do you really want to go through that? Can you really handle it?" The questions hung in the air without a reply "I can help you. I'm willing to help you…if you'll let me" And then the man looked up and it was just the reaction needed. It was as good as an answer. She knew he must have felt weak and helpless which would have probably been almost as bad as the pain. She should know. If there was a way to get back to normal, how could he be expected not to take it?_

_And even without words, the figure knew the answer. His grin wasn't exactly visible in the dark, but you could almost sense it, his pleasure vibrating off him._

"_I will help you" He said, his voice near-excitement now "For a price…"_

Rogue woke with a start, her breathing shallow and her head still stinging. At first she thought the dream had woken her but then a small voice piped up

"Are you alright?" Rogue jumped and swung her head around to face the young girl sitting on the seat across from her, looking nervous.

"Sorry" She added quickly, fumbling with her own hands, obviously taking Rogue's look of surprise as negative. "I couldn't find an empty compartment and I didn't want to wake you so…" She gushed, chewing on her lip and averting her eyes nervously.

"It's fine" Rogue said quickly, straightening up. "It's fine," She repeated "You just startled me"

She had expected the compartment to herself as she doubted the train to fill up at this time but it seemed people caught trains at all times of day. Feeling self-conscious of her skin but not wanting to seem suspicious, Rogue left her extra layers of clothing in the pile. Feeling awkward, she gave the girl a brief look over.

She didn't look very old, somewhere around 15 or 16 perhaps. Her hair was a long and a light sandy-brown colour, pulled back into a tight ponytail. But the detail that stood out the most on the girl was the many tattoos covering her body. Lines and lines of art was visible on her arms, spiralling and expanding into all sorts of patterns. Even her face was inked, with symbols spread out over her forehead, chin and marked on her cheeks, right down to her neck, circled with shapes. The girl was staring downwards, as though aware of her gaze, and Rogue inwardly scolded herself for being so rude.

"I'm Marie" She spoke up and the girl raised her eyes slightly, hesitating before a small smile lit up her face.

"Paint" She said, proudly, sounding much more confident now that someone had made the first move. And just like the patterns on her flesh, her name stuck out.

"Paint?" Rogue repeated, confused but with suspicion blooming in her mind. Perhaps she and the girl had more in common than it would first seem.

"It's a nickname," She added, a sly grin growing on her lips. She didn't elaborate on her real name nor did Rogue ask. However her curiosity plagued her and although feeling hypocritical because she dislikes when people pry, she asked her questions anyway.

"May I ask where you're headed?" She stated, politely, a friendly smile already on her face. Paint looked her straight in the eye, her smile slipping slightly and replied without shame

"San Francisco. Warren Worthington Labs. I'm a mutant and I'm going to be cured." She held the eye contact, as though daring Rogue to express some kind of negative reaction. Discriminate against her, get up and leave or perhaps condemn her decision to 'change herself for society.'

Rogue couldn't help but admire the girls pride and determination, especially compared to her own defensive feedback in the same situation. Rogue tried to look friendly but couldn't help but notice the tension lingering in the air. She pondered for a moment before answering

"Me too" the tension instantly vanishes and the hard look in the girls face softened.

"Really?" She sounded eager, immediately clinging to the idea of a new friend who might understand her, "Are you going to San Francisco?"

This was code for 'Are you going to be cured?' and although Rogue knew this girl wouldn't treat her like Monet and Husk had, and although she admired this girls sass, she wasn't ready to adopt it to herself. The students at Xavier's had told her to feel shame in her decision and it would be a while before she'd shake that habit.

Instead, Rogue smiled secretly and chose to divert the course the conversation was headed, but still choosing a direction that would help the girl relate to her.

"They call me Rogue," She said, expanding her secretive smile. It seemed sharing codenames was like sharing a secret handshake in these situations. Paint giggled excitedly. "If I may ask…" Rogue hesitated but chose to continue, "What is it that you do that you want to get the Cure for?" She knew her own reasons behind her journey but often wondered what was so terrible for people that they'd get it too. Who had it worse?

A small smile crept onto her face. She leaned forwards, her elbows on her knees and stared Rogue face-to-face. At first, nothing was happening, they were just two people watching each other, waiting. Then there was movement. The Celtic-looking triangle on her left check was moving. It expanded and then unfurled itself into a straight line. Rogue watched with fascination as the straight line then began to form a new shape. Twisting and stretching, it created a word, done in stylish cursive writing. Where the triangle had just been moments ago was now _'Shhh…'_. Rogue laughed in wonder.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Rogue said and Paint couldn't hide her grin. Straightening up, the word spiralled back into the triangular shape

"Man-made tattoos. Natural, painless and temporary," She said with a shrug "I can create them on other people too, not just myself."

"You could start a business!" Rogue grinned

"Yeah…" Paint said almost thoughtfully. Then, as though remembering why she was on the train, she said quickly. "So, what about you, huh? Show me what you got!"

Rogue laughed nervously and looked down at her hands, which she clenched into fists. She wished she didn't have to answer, but that wasn't really fair.

"It's like… um…" she began, stuttering "I can… _absorb_ the…'psyches', I guess, of someone else whenever I touch them" She finished, not looking up from her hands.

"Psyches?" Paint asked

"Yeah…" Rogue sighed "Like their memories, and if they're a mutant their powers too and, like, bits of their personalities or sometimes they're features, y'know. It wears off eventually though but even then, there's still always this… never mind… She trailed off

"Wow," Paint breathed quietly, and Rogue finally looked up to find curiosity in the girls' eyes. "And you can't control it?"

"Nope" Rogue said, somewhat bitterly "Can't shake a hand, can't hug a friend, can't kiss my boyfriend… it drains people. Of their memories, of their thoughts, of their lives. The first boy I ever kissed…" She took a deep breath and looked out the window "I could kill someone if I held on too long." Paint didn't say anything so Rogue broke the silence, fearing awkwardness. "I guess you get why I'm getting the cure now" She finished quietly.

"Yeah…" Paint replied, "Makes me feel kind of silly now…" She laughed nervously but before Rogue could respond she was suddenly leaning forward again, fidgeting rather nervously but with her eyes sparkling.

"Um…" She began hesitantly, but held her eye contact "Could you show me?"

Rogue was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected that.

"What?" She blinked, confused. But Paint just held out her hand, slightly eager

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. I'm just curious…" She added quickly. Rogue stared at her hand, stunned and then looked up at the girl. Biting the inside of her cheek she finally gathered some courage and grasped the girls hand. There was a split second before anything happened but suddenly Paint gasped and began paling. Rogue felt a surge of energy then a short scene flashed in front of her eyes

"I'm sorry," a boy with long dark hair in a ponytail was saying to her, a look of mild disgust mangling his face for a moment "But I just can't do this any more. Not when you're… like this" He shuddered slightly and looked away. Face wet with tears, she brought a hand to her face

"_I thought… I thought you'd find it beautiful. You told me I was always beautiful to you…" She choked out. He shook his head, still not looking at her  
_

"Yeah, but that was before. I can't, not like this. Not when you're…you know. One of them" He shrugged it off as though it didn't matter. But it did. To her.

Rogue let go and Paint slumped back in her seat

"Whoa" She gasped, amazed

"Tell me about it." Rogue muttered, distracted. There was a lull in the conversation as Paint recovered and Rogue pulled on her gloves, pondering. She could tell they weren't far from San Francisco now so she decided she'd better say what she had to say while she still could.

"Paint… if I may ask…" She said, using the same politeness that the girl had used with her "You're getting the Cure… but it seems to me like you're power isn't really so bad- and I mean that with all due respect, I wouldn't dare criticise you on your decisions because that's a bit hypocritical plus I don't really know you" She added hastily "But, it just seems like you're power could be easily hidden, if doesn't hold you back in any way and it seems you've even embraced it" She motioned to the girls inked face "So, I have to ask… why are you getting the cure?"

It was Paints turn to look away this time. She stared out the window, where the scenery rushing by had slowed down with the train. Rogue knew she had to say what she needed to now, before it was their stop

"Paint… are you doing this for a guy?" Something she could relate somewhat to. Paint fidgeted and looked back at her, struggling to find words

"I just want what I had before" She admitted, quietly "I don't want to lose everything over something I couldn't stop. And now that I have a way out…" She sighed, and looked back out the window. The train was almost at a complete stop. A voice over the speaker was announcing their location- San Francisco. Paint took another deep breath "I was pretty much given two options: him or this. But I kind of couldn't make the choice. Now I can. I made it."

"I can understand where you're coming from, I really can" Rogue said as she packed up her stuff. "But, just try to get some perspective. Look at what you have compared to me. I'd kill to be able to do what you can!" She swung her backpack over her shoulder "Just don't do anything you'll regret, ok? This guy left you because of what you are; he's clearly not worth changing for. You might find that you love this part of yourself more than you do him. Make sure this is what _you _want." And with one last smile, she left and was one of the first off the train. She took a deep breath of air and walked out of the station and onto the street. It was empty out, and still dark but this suited Rogue just fine. She made her way along the path, having a basic idea of the direction she had to go but also guessing a lot of it. The time alone gave her some time to mull over things, wondering what people were going to say when she returned. She was dreading it already.

She wondered if Bobby knew she was gone yet. Perhaps Kitty had run out to tell him the moment she'd realised Rogue was gone. If she'd even gone back to her own room…

No, that was stupid. She didn't want to think those things, not about her best friend or her boyfriend. She knew there was nothing between them, what she'd seen out the window was just two friends. She was just upset at the time.

Either way, it didn't change anything. She was here now, and she was just as sure as ever.

Her trail of thoughts was shattered at the sound of footsteps, somebody running toward her, from what she could tell. She spun around warily; paranoia tends to thrive in these dark situations. Before her eyes could even adjust, something solid and alive slammed into her bringing both her and her 'attacker' tumbling to the ground. Whoever had collided into her had rolled a metre away while Rogue landed sprawled on her back. Groaning in pain, she clambered onto her knees

"Watch where you're going!" She snapped, roughly and in the light of the streetlamp, got a good look at her aggressor. The sight she was met with caused a scream to erupt from her lungs but she quickly stifled it. The woman that was crouched before her was- there was no other word for it- a monster. Rags for clothing worn shredded over her muscled flesh, which was covered with what looked like bones sticking out all over her body, with large stakes mutilating her back, talons grew from her feet, even her face was framed with grotesque bone structures right up to the top of her head where white lumps tore through her scalp, leaving only patches of dull, dirtied pink hair left. The look in her eyes was murderous and Rogue's disgust towards her appearance seemed to set her off. Letting off a roar, she dived towards her. Rogue managed to roll out of the way and quickly sprang to her feet, fists raised in preparation. The beast matched her stance and pulled one of the bones out of her back and threw it like a boomerang. It hit Rogue right in the jaw and pain burned her face but she quickly caught the weapon and leapt towards her offender, ramming the bone right into the girls' chest where it tore through skin. She quickly followed it up with a sharp, harsh kick in the shins, where the woman almost crumbled but grabbed Rogue's wrists to pull herself back up and bring Rogue down. She hit the ground, chest down, but quickly reached forward and grabbed the woman's ankles to bring her down too. Rogue scrambled to her feet and slammed her foot into the monsters side and went in for a second hit when her foot was grabbed and she was thrown further down the sidewalk, head hitting the concrete. Her body throbbed but she wasn't finished yet. Back on her feet again, she ran at her foe, throwing her into the streetlamp nearby, before delivering a punch directly into the woman's face. The streetlamp flickered out and in the darkness Rogue didn't see the shard of bone flying toward her. It embedded itself into her shoulder and she shrieked, falling to her knees.

"Hey!" Someone called from the distance- someone new- and the disfigured enemy looked sharply around as the source of the voice came running onto the scene. Releasing an angry scream, the offender began to escape, but not before pausing to turn back around

"Why won't you _leave us alone!_" She roared before making off. Rogue was still on the ground when suddenly, someone grabbed her harshly by the wrist and lifted her to her feet

"Who are you?" a harsh female voice hissed into her ear.

"Ow!" Rogue screeched, attempting to pull away from the woman's tight grip "Let go of me!"

"Did you hear me or not!" The voice was getting angry now, her grip tightening. Rogue spun around, throwing the girl forward however she was dragged down too, sprawled on the concrete once again. The woman moved faster than her and before she knew it she was being held down, a strong body sitting on her stomach while pushing her hands into the ground.

"Who are you!" The female repeated but Rogue just raised her head in a sharp movement so their skulls collided and the girl rolled off her. She was already scrambling up but this time Rogue was faster. She sat up, slipt off a glove in one quick movement and, as the woman came at her again, grabbed her bare wrist just for long enough to throw her to the other side. She didn't gather much from the quick moment of absorption except that this girl was not a threat, so she quickly stood up.

"Stop!" She said, slipping her glove back on and catching her breath. Surprisingly, she did stop and they stared each other down in the dim light.

"I'm Rogue" she finally spoke first, relaxing her stance to show that she meant no harm. The woman stared her down for a moment before also relaxing, albeit slightly.

"Siryn." She straightened up, combing her orange hair out of her eyes "Sorry about attacking you there…"

"It's fine" Rogue said quickly, the break in action causing her dizziness to suddenly start creeping up on her. Her head throbbed, her muscles ached and the shard of bone imbedded in her shoulder was still there, and she had a feeling it had sunk even deeper into her flesh during the latest scuffle. "Who was that woman?" She asked, taking a hand to her injured shoulder where she felt the sticky, moist feeling of blood.

"Her name is Marrow, she's a Morlock." At Rogue's confused expression, she explained "That's the group of Mutants that live in the sewers underground. They've been causing a bit of trouble around here recently and they're not exactly welcome to our help."

"What kind of trouble?" Siryn gave her a cautious glance and sighed

"I probably shouldn't be telling you any of this but… well, you seem harmless. Plus, I feel pretty bad for attacking you like that. Just been on my toes a bit lately" She took a deep breath "The Morlocks used to be quite a big group. They were Supernatural outcasts, Mutants whose manifestations had left them unable to pass in regular human society- usually because of horrific physical deformities or sometimes because their powers were just too out of control- so they migrated to the sewers, shunned by the 'surface world'. At first they weren't a lot of trouble, they'd just cause some bad reactions if they dared come out of their darkness or some create a little conflict by showing their faces. But then some of them- most of them, actually- began to resent the 'beautiful' people on the surface, mutants who could pass off as normal human beings. They even began rejecting any mutants trying to join them if they deemed them acceptable-looking. They got restless and angry. They began coming out in the nights to attack humans out of jealousy. It was beginning to be a pretty big problem. But then things got really bad. A group of Mutants known as the Marauders made their way into the sewers and wiped out most of their numbers in a horrible attack…" She closed her eyes, briefly, as though pained by the memory. "It was…horrifying. The Morlock Massacre. By the time X-Force got there, all there was to see was what was left…" She took another deep breath "It wasn't pretty" She paused for a moment as though letting the memory wash over her mind, a look of distaste on her face. "At first we thought they were completely wiped out. But then a month or so later, there were sightings. And it started getting worse. The surviving Morlocks gathered- and they were pissed. They started making appearances in darkest nights and making attacks- on anyone. Mutants, humans, anyone they could find. Sometimes it's just torture, but there have been killings too. Horrible deaths…" Another deep breath "But things have gotten worse recently. They've started abducting people too. All people, doesn't matter whether their human or not, they just take them away to the tunnels. I don't even know what they're doing to them. But my team, we've been trying to help them somehow. Getting them re-grouped, giving them stronger defence, healing them, forming alliances and working on their eventual acceptance into society, hopefully. Keeping them peaceful, you know. But they're not exactly willing to take our help, especially recently. Before they were at least willing to hear us through, accept some of our aid, but now they're just pushing us away. But we can't just let them get away with it" She sighed again, looking at the direction Marrow had escaped in "We're running out of options. As if the Anti-Mutants movements aren't bad enough as it is, all of them running amok isn't exactly helping."

Rogue nodded along, slightly fascinated. She hadn't really payed attention to the Mutant happenings outside of New York unless it was something the X-Men got involved in.

"X-Force?" She enquired, finally

"Yes, that's my team of Mutants. We're not a big deal- far from the X-Men…" Rogue shifted uncomfortably "Just some of us who found each other and decided to form an organization. But we do what we can to help out the city."

"Wow" Rogue said, "I'd never even thought about other Mutant groups other than the X-Men…"

Siryn nodded and looked back around. Suddenly, for the first time, she noticed the shard sticking out of Rogue's shoulder "Oh my God, you're hurt!' She exclaimed with surprise. She held out a hand to check but Rogue flinched in pain and she quickly withdrew "I'm sorry, I didn't notice! Here, let me help you"

She took Rogue by the arm and, finally, her exhaustion settled in and she allowed her weight to crumple against her new accomplice. Siryn pulled her along as she limped

"I'll take you back to the X-Force HQ" She said, "It's not far from here. We'll clean you up a bit and you can rest there if you like."

"Oh, no, it's fine." Rogue said, quickly, not wanting to impose "I'm fine."

"Don't be silly," She said, sharply. "I'm not going to leave you bleeding in the street. It's way too cold anyway. Here, it's just around this corner…"

They turned down an alleyway where right at the end was a red door. Siryn pulled out a key to unlock it and they stepped into a dark hallway. Locking the door behind her, she switched on a dim light to illuminate the staircase before them, which lead up to another red door, this time unlocked so they just walked right through.

The room they entered next was big and full of light and people. It was like a large lounge room of an apartment, with the walls brick and decorated with a variety of posters, art and other collected decorations. There was a neat looking kitchen connected with quite a lot of room and counter space and several people sitting at the couch in front of the TV or at the table drinking hot drinks. Upon their entrance, they all looked around.

"About time, Theresa" a girl situated in front of the TV said exasperatedly "We were beginning to get worried" The girl didn't look much older than Rogue, with blond hair cut pixie-style. She was leaning into the guy sitting next to her, who was large with muscles and his blond hair considerably darker than hers. Also, curiously, he had a set of what looked like aviator goggles on his head.

"Who's your friend?" the guy asked

"This is Rogue" Siryn introduced her, pushing her into a chair at the table and wandering into the kitchen to find medical supplies. "Seems she ran into our good friend Marrow"

"Ooh, that's got to be harsh. That girl never does let up" the blond girl spoke up again

"Yeah, she does like to cause trouble. I can see she made sure you won't forget her anytime soon" the woman sitting across the table added, peering at the bone slice sticking out of Rogue. This woman had a curious look about her with short jet-black hair but with skin chalk-white and a large dark circle surrounding one of her eyes.

"Tell me about it" Rogue muttered, feeling rather awkward in the midst of all these strangers. She tugged nervously at her gloves. Siryn came over and knelt down beside her

"This might hurt," She warned, before roughly pulling the piece of bone right out of her shoulder. Rogue let out a quick gasp of pain before gritting her teeth together. Blood began dripping down her shirt but Siryn quickly cleaned it up and dabbed a burning liquid to the wound.

"I'm Domino" The black-eyed woman introduced herself, probably in an attempt to take her attention away from the burning sensation. "The blond girl over there is Meltdown and the guy she's groping is Cannonball" she motioned to the couple on the couch

"I am _not _groping him," the girl named Meltdown pouted. Siryn finished her work surprisingly fast, and after inspecting it quickly to make sure it didn't seem infected, she bandaged it up. Domino continued to introduce the rest of the X-Force team.

"Over there is Shatterstar" She motioned to the long red-haired man also on the couch. He too had an interesting mark over his eye, but other than that he looked normal, although rather intimidating. She motioned to the corner "That's Feral." And Feral certainly looked feral. Curled up in a ball, she looked more like a werewolf than a woman, complete with fur, tail and claws.

"Feral is our Morlock accomplice" Siryn explained as she finished fixing up Rogue "She's one of the only ones willing to accept our help and we're hoping her friends might listen to what we have in mind if they hear it from one of their own." Feral didn't look too friendly and hissed at Rogue, cat-eyes looming. She quickly looked away.

"Over there is Warpath" Domino continued, motioning to the sinister looking man with long dark hair and matching dark eyes. Despite the scary look about him, he smiled kindly, which Rouge returned. "And that's our leader, Cable" Cable was bent over some papers and barely looked up to acknowledge Rogue but he definitely looked like a man in charge. His hair was white but he didn't look that old, although still the oldest there. But what stuck out most was his arm, robotic from shoulder to fingertips, and his left eye, which glowed red. Rogue gazed for a moment before focusing back on Domino

"And last and probably least, our newest member, Gambit" She motioned to a corner where Rogue hadn't noticed the dark figure shuffling a deck of cards. She looked around her eyes immediately locked with his, which were burning scarlet against black. Rogue blinked. An intense feeling of familiarity spun through her but in her exhaustion she couldn't figure out where she knew him. However, considering the smirk and glint his eyes, it was clear that he knew exactly where he'd seen her before and found it quite amusing.

"Pleasure, _cherie_" He said, smoothly and Rogue quickly looked away, feeling self-conscious.

"So, Rogue, where do you hail from?" Meltdown spoke up

"I just arrived today from New York" she said, still feeling Gambits eyes on the back off her neck. Considering it for a moment, she quickly added "I'm actually a member of the X-Men at the moment… or more likely, an ex-member" She muttered the last part, looking down. She'd decided to mention her affiliation so that it would be easier to gain their trust and hopefully give herself an alliance in this new city. The team immediately relaxed a bit at that and Siryn brightened up

"You didn't mention that before!" She said eagerly "I was actually a student there for a while- only a month or so though. My Dad suggested it but after that raid from William Stryker, I realised that unless I got in with the X-Men I was missing out on all the action- and they're not exactly letting just anyone in. So I came here"

Rogue's mind wandered back to the night of the raid. She remembered a shrill screaming killing her eardrums and waking her up. She remembered asking Bobby about it and him mentioning some girl with the sonic scream- Theresa Cassidy he'd called her.

"Oh, I remember you!" Rogue said, wide-eyed "You had the scream that woke everyone up. You saved a lot of kids that night just by doing that" Siryn shrugged it off, but the grin didn't escape her face

"I was going to enrol myself at Xavier's too actually" Meltdown said, thoughtfully "Once I'd left home. But so much happened on the way and I just never made it."

"So what's Mutant High like?" Cannonball asked, turning around to join the conversation

"It's good. Great, actually. Most of the time"

"Then what are you doing in San Francisco?" Meltdown enquired and Rogue felt nervous. She didn't think anyone had considered that most newly arrived mutants around were going to get the Cure yet but the look in the blondes eyes was a sign that it had finally occurred to her.

"Oh, I just needed a break. Some of the girls were having an issue with my powers and I just wanted to get away for a while"

"Why did they have an issue with your powers?" Meltdown pushed on and Rogue was beginning to fidget.

"Um, I'm really sorry to impose on you like this" She avoided answering "But I'm really tired and I don't have anywhere else to go. Do you think I could…"

Siryn didn't even wait for her to finish.

"Not a problem, not a problem" She reassured her "We have a spare room and the bed's already made up, so you can crash there if you want, for as long as you need. Here, Gambit will show you where it is"

Rogue's heart sank. She had a bad feeling about this Gambit. He seemed so familiar, but she just couldn't place him…

He stepped forward, shoving the deck of cards in his pocket, the smug grin still plastered over his face. "Mon pleasure" he said as Rogue got up from her seat, grasping her backpack. He grinned. "Call m' Remy"

Rogue felt her face pale. Her heart plunged further and if she thought she felt dread before, it was definitely worse. At the mention of his name, it all came rushing back to her.

Remy Lebeau

Suddenly scenes began crashing into her mind

Standing before a mirror, he was dressed in a black and white tuxedo. Standing at the door, Julian was staring him down, trying to be menacing as he could.

"Y' don' scare Remy, Julian. Aren' we done talkin' now? Or is there somethin' y' wanted to add?"

_Julian turned to leave but before his exit, he gave one last menacing look_

"I don't trust thieves, Remy. But it seems Bella does and if this is going to make her happy… just remember my warning" And with that last word, he was gone. Still staring in the mirror, a sneaky grin made it's way onto his face…

………

"_I can lessen the amount of energy that runs through you. It would make you significantly less powerful, yes, but it would give you control"_

_A dark figure stood before him, making an offer, an offer that he needed if things kept continuing to go the way they already were. As if things weren't bad enough, with Julian still hot on his trail. Perhaps this was his penance for leaving Bella like he did. He mulled over the offer, silently, knowing it was just a big of a risk to take it than it was to refuse_

"_If you keep going the way you are, it will only get worse. Everything you see will explode. The pain in your head, it's not going to go away. Do you really want to go through that? Can you really handle it? I can help you. I'm willing to help you…if you'll let me"_

_They both already knew what his answer would be. The dark figure grinned in the darkness. They both knew where this was going…_

………

_Before him, the girl with the white streak in her hair stood, hands on her hips with Julian and his friends slumped at her feet. He was surprised. She was tougher than she looked_

"_Told you I could look after myself," She said coldly and attraction erupted in him toward the young lass_

"_Well, I guess y' proved m' wrong den" He smirked, impressed. She looked down at the men she'd knocked out with a simple touch_

"_They're not going to stay out for long so unless you wanna stick around and get shot…"_

"_Gotcha" he winked and followed her out, liking the view he was getting from following behind her. Once they'd put a decent distance between them and the enemy, she turned around as if to say something to him, but Remy liked to be the one to make the first move. He stepped forward but she just stepped back, pressing herself against the wall, looking nervous. Seemed that whatever she wanted to say probably wasn't the same thing as what he had in mind but he was enjoying the sexual tension nonetheless. He moved even closer, so there were only inches between them._

"_Don' believe I've introduced m'self. Remy Lebeau" She looked suspicious but quickly straightened up. She held herself well_

"_I figured that out for myself" She said, somewhat snappily, but it just brought a smile to his face._

"_Well, guess tha' means y' don' want t' tell Remy y' name. Still, pleasure meetin' y', chere. Jus' wish it w're under better circumstances" She didn't reply so he filled the silence for her_

"_Guessin' y'hre a mutant too?" She nodded but still wasn't talking so he pressed on_

"_An' wha' migh' y'hre gift be, cherie?" She took a deep breath, flinching slightly before a hard look set in her eyes_

"_What I can do… ain't a gift," She said softly, pulling off a glove. He was surprised when she raised her bare hand and pressed it softly against his lips. Suddenly everything began to get fuzzy and just as his vision was fading he heard, as though from a distance_

"_My name's Rogue, by the way"_

………

As Gambits memories rushed to her, thus reminding her of her own, her cheeks flushed pink.

How did she get herself into this?

* * *

That's all I have to say. Oh, and check out my other story too, if you want. It's a bit different to this one but, hey, give it a shot. You never know.

Lady Hand Grenade xo


	5. Explosions

Another chapter for any readers out there who are still hanging around despite my terrible/lazy updating habits! Yay! I'm hoping to start updating this a lot more because I'm really getting back some of that excitement I had when first I started that I lost sometime between, although now that I've said that I've probably jinxed myself. Ah well. So tell me what you think of it with the usual no flaming but constructive criticism is more than welcome. I really do enjoy your feedback. So, I hope you enjoy!

Oh, and I finished, edited and uploaded this at 3.30 in the morning, so forgive me/notify me if I missed any mistakes. Thank you! And again, thank you for all your kind reviews. It's so good to hear that people actually enjoy something I've written.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Marvel, the X-Men or any of the characters you see here.

* * *

Rogue silently followed Gambit through a long hall, which held several doors, proving that the apartment was much bigger than it would first seem. She kept her head down and a metre of space between the two of them, hoping that perhaps Remy had forgotten their encounter.

Of course, the amusement that lit up his eyes told her otherwise.

"Bathroom" He motioned to a door on the left and turned a corner further down the hall, "laundry," motioned to another "And y're room" He said, stopping in front of the last door on the right, pushing it open for her to see. It wasn't much, quite similar to her room at the X-Mansion in fact. A single bed, a set of drawers, a bedside table and a shelf. Grateful for the space but wanting to get away from an awkward situation she rushed inside muttering a quick "thanks" as she passed him, dumping her bag on her bed and turning back around to pull the door shut…

Only to find him casually leaning against the door frame, a sneaky smile on his face.

"You're kind of in the way…" Rogue said, cheeks tinged with pink.

"Ah, th' myst'ry woman. Remy was hopin' t' run into y' again, cherie" He said, slyly, as if he hadn't heard her.

"Well, I can't say the feeling is exactly mutual" she replied, looking away and clenching her teeth together. The amused look pasted to his face was really starting to bother her. It was clear he was playing a game with her, a game she did not want to be a part of.

"So, how 'bout we pick up w'ere we left off, what d' y' say, chere?" He smirked, stepping into the room again. Rogue stood her ground this time instead of moving backwards.

"Have you already forgotten what happened the other time you tried to make a move on me?" She said, roughly, eyes narrowing, "You really want that to happen again?"

"Maybe it would be worth it, no?" He said with a chuckle, still approaching. Clearly, he enjoyed the chase, even if the consequences were rather harsh.

"I have a boyfriend," She finally blurted out, viciously, her last resort in getting rid of him. Something flashed in his eyes but disappeared before she knew what it could be. He shrugged playfully, but stopped advancing forward.

"Hmm, shame. Bu' tha' don't have t' stop y', p'tite." He raised his eyebrows suggestively but she just said nothing "No? Maybe anot'er time then, hmm?" He continued and with a grin and a wink, he left the room, leaving Rogue to stare at the empty space he'd just been standing in, her heart racing and her mind buzzing. She sat down on her bed and bowed her head down, allowing all the recent events to catch up with her. It had been quite a crazy few hours. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, figuring that at least she'd met some people on her trip. But would they still want anything to do with once she was a regular human? The idea of being alienated by mutants terrified her almost as much as staying one however she was not going to let other people make her choices for her. Knowing that tomorrow could be the day where she could stop being such a hazard to the ones she loved gave her butterflies. Nervous? Yes but it wasn't nearly as strong as her excitement. A small smile crept onto her face. In only a few hours, she would be free.

Slipping her hand into her pocket, she pulled out the photo of her and her friends. Gazing down at the smiles that had been captured forever on a photograph, her stomach flipped in hope of similar times to come. That sunny day felt like so long ago and she craved to have that feeling back. Looking around the room, she wondered if she should call them. Reassure them that she was ok, that she was sure, that she was excited.

But her smile turned to a grimace. What would she be greeted with? Faked enthusiasm? Disappointment? No, she wasn't ready to talk to them yet. She could handle this much better alone, hearing them would only confuse her. Tearing her eyes away from the photo, she set it down on the bedside table. Deciding she'd best get some sleep, she slipt off her shoes, gloves and coat and fell back against the pillow, not even bothering to get changed. She hadn't packed any pyjamas anyway; she'd half-expected to be spending the night on a bench. Pulling her legs close to her chest, she closed her eyes and tried to settle the thoughts racing through her mind enough to drift away.

* * *

But she didn't sleep. She _couldn't_ sleep. With eyes clenched shut, she tossed and turned beneath the covers as her thoughts tossed and turned in her mind. Hearing the clock tick the seconds away so slowly was torture. Could it really be only 1 in the morning? It felt like an eternity since she'd made up her mind, walked away from Bobby, Kitty, Wolverine, the Mansion, the X-Men. Walked away from Mutanthood. Surely her encounter with Paint, Marrow, and the X-Force happened more than just mere hours ago? How could so much happen in such a short time?

Funny how you can waste years feeling like you're standing still and then suddenly, you jump forward and everything's changed and you feel like all that growing up you should have done just happened in one moment.

_Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock_

The clock taunted her, a reminder of what had happened so quickly and what was about to happen, in what felt like forever. Finally, it became too much and she kicked off her covers, swung her feet around and got out of bed. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she left her room and made her way down the hall, right into the kitchen. It was dim and the silence was almost unnatural. Casting a nervous glance around she approached the cupboards to find the things she needed to make herself a hot chocolate. She put the kettle on and began spooning powdered chocolate into a mug. She'd just turned around to get the milk when a dark voice arose from the darkness

"Pity Warren Worthin'ton Labs don' open 'till seven, hmm?" She jumped in surprise, spilling milk all over the counter. Swearing under her breath as she quickly reached for a cloth to clean up the mess, she already had a feeling on who her unwelcome visitor was before she turned around and saw the red eyes lit in the shadows. There sat Remy Lebeau, at the dining room table, his trademark smirk once again plastered across his face.

"Must you be there every time I turn around" Rogue growled under her breath and he released a low chuckle

"Remy was sittin' here firs', cherie." He responded, leaning back in his chair. Rogue sighed and didn't bother replying as she finished making her drink and took a large gulp of it, burning the back of her throat in the process.

"So, th' cure, huh?" Remy was clearly not getting the hint but still, Rogue kept quiet

"There's no need t' be hidin' it 'round here" Remy continued "Ain' no one gon' be getting' in your business. It's y're life t' live, these guys don' mind"

"That's what they all say," Rogue said, instantly regretting breaking her silence, expecting Remy to tease her a little more. From what she could tell he wasn't exactly the 'heart-to-heart' type. So she was surprised to look up and not see that smug expression once again on his face. Instead, her eyes locked right into his and they shone with seriousness and a sort of intensity that almost frightened her.

"Mayb' t'ey mean it?" He suggested in almost hushed tones, which made her shiver. How was it that everything he said seemed to affect her?

She didn't say anything for a while, just held his gaze as if daring him to look away. He didn't and finally, she gave in and looked away herself.

"I don't know what anyone really means any more." She sighed. "Do they want me to get it, do they not? Do they even care? But I'll never know until it's over, when I can't turn back. That's when the truth'll really come out." An image of Bobby flashed in her mind "It's never as simple as it being my choice."

"Who says anythin'll change jus' b'cause y' got th' cure? Mutant or no, y're still th' same person, aren' y'" She looked up to find her was still holding his gaze intently on her.

"Let me put it this way; do you have any human friends?" The silence that followed was a sufficient answered and she nodded. This was, after all, what she had expected.

"Remy don' exactly make a lot o' friends, mutant or no" He finally said, with a small smile which Rogue reluctantly tried to return without much success. She turned around to face the sink and began washing her now empty mug.

"Doesn't make much of a difference anyway," she continued, "I made a choice, and I'm sticking with it. If anyone's got a problem with that then I don't want to hear it. They don't understand what it's like." She paused "It's one thing to hear about something; it's a whole other story to be living it."

"Why don' y' try an' teach 'em?" His voice was right in her ear, which surprised her so much she almost dropped the mug. She hadn't even heard him get up. Luckily, she didn't drop it; she just froze on the spot, her breath caught in her throat.

"Yeah, like it's that easy" She said, her voice low. She continued to stare down at the counter, still, until finally resting her clean mug upon it and turning around to face Remy, who stood before her, a soft look in his eyes that she didn't expect to see.

"Mayb' it is?" He suggested and she blinked. He brought up his hand and reached out as if to grab a hold of her bare arm. For some reason, she didn't move, just watched as his bare skin came closer to touching hers, to face her deadly touch. But then the image of that dark, shadowed face rushed back into her mind, that feeling of desperation she knew Remy had once felt, the mess of memories she'd encountered that had confused and frightened her. She pulled back.

"No," she said sharply and then her voice became an almost pleading whisper "Don't. Please, just…don't" He stopped, his arm dropping to his side. But he made no other movements, still standing intimidating close. She stared at the floor, determined not to look at him. '_I just don't want to know'_ the words were at the tip of her tongue, desperate to escape her lips. '_Please, it's better to not know' _but she didn't say anything. Instead, she pushed past him and made a quick escape from the room. She was almost running down the hall until she finally shut and locked the door to her room and fell into a heap onto her bed. She switched off the light and blinked into the darkness, her breathing loud in the silence, her heart thumping against her ribcage. Oh, how the tables had turned so suddenly between her and Gambit. From the smug teasing earlier to sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife and make jam toast with it, how had that happened? How was it that their encounter had left her heart racing, her hands shaking and her mind reeling? How was it that even though she'd seen him as the biggest jerk earlier, a part of her really wished she hadn't pulled back? How could she want his touch so bad, even though she knew it'd give her some information she felt sure she'd rather not know. Just one touch, so simple to most people, but to her was all she'd wanted for so long, an almost intimate gesture. She asked him not to touch her, so why did she still wish he had done it anyway? She knew she didn't want to know his secrets so why did she want so badly for him to grab her by the hands and show her everything? She had a boyfriend, she loved Bobby, so why did a part of her desperately want to grab him by the shirt and kiss him hopelessly, no matter what the consequences?

_Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock_

The clock ticked away, a reminder of the amount of hours she had left to ponder these thoughts, this feeling, the mess that was Remy LeBeau.

* * *

Rogue got up early. Whether she'd actually slept or had just been so consumed in her thoughts, she'd just tuned out, she wasn't quite sure. All she did know was that when she looked around to see it was quarter past 6, she was ready to bail. Whether it was because of her desperation for the cure, or her desperation to avoid Remy, she wasn't quite sure. But it didn't matter. Getting out of bed, she glanced at the mirror to fix herself up a bit, put her coat and gloves back on and throw her bag over her shoulder and head toward the living room, which held the door that lead her way out. When she walked into the well-lit room she was surprised to find she was apparently not the only early bird in the house. Scattered across the area were several members of the X-Force. Cable was once again bent over papers and blueprints as if he'd never moved, Domino was making a pot of coffee, Cannonball was flipping through morning cartoons and Siryn was reading the paper. When she entered, nearly all eyes landed on her, except for Cables. She suddenly felt like a deer in headlights and shifted from one foot to the other nervously.

"Um… Good morning" She said, quickly and awkwardly and was met with a series of "Hey" and "Mornin" and even a grunt from the busy Cable.

"Leaving so soon?" Siryn asked as Domino served her a latte.

"Uh, yeah. I've got some places to be and I wanted to make an early start," She said quietly, still shifting.

"Right, right, it's nearing seven o'clock." Domino said as she sat at the table, throwing a wink in Rogue's direction. She looked around and saw the pleasant smiles still on all their faces and her muscles relaxed slightly. Seems they really were ok with the cure here, after all. And seems her intention in San Francisco was more obvious than she thought.

"Yeah, you know how it is" She smiled, still keeping with subtlety. No point in awkward conversation about it. "But thank you so much for everything"

"Oh, it's nothing" Siryn waved her off "Just don't be a stranger if you ever come back to San Francisco. You're welcome to come visit any time."

"I'll definitely think about it" Rogue said honestly, with a grin. Although she hadn't made much conversation with any of them, she still felt comfortable among the polite mutants and quite liked the idea of coming back one day, maybe to get to know them better.

"Till then" She said, making her way to the door. They farewelled her as she pulled it open and left, clicking it shut behind her. She made her way back down the alley and onto the street, now surprisingly busy compared the emptiness of last night.

She took a deep breath of fresh air and made her way up the street, towards what she hoped was Warren Worthington Labs, towards what she hoped was a new and better life. The walk was long but didn't feel like it and after a short detour due to a wrong turn; she found herself standing in front of the tall, almost intimidating building. There were people everywhere, the business making it easier to find. All around the building, crowds of people stood with signs and angry faces in protest of the Cure and Rogue felt her stomach flip and avoided looking at any of these people. Also around the area where several on-lookers who seemed to have wandered over merely out of curiosity. In the middle of it all, coming in a straight long line from the door, stood a series of Mutants who waited awkwardly and somewhat embarrassed as they waited for their turn to enter the building. Scanning the area once more, she pulled her coat closely to herself, flipping her hood over her head and nervously joined the line too.

After everything that had happened and everything she'd been expecting, this all felt rather anti-climatic. After all, she was just standing in line, shuffling forward occasionally. Of course, the protestors that filled her peripheral vision did put her slightly on-edge, whether they were there because they were mutants hating the cure or humans hating mutants, either way it didn't pan out well for Rogue. So she just pulled her hood further down, focusing on the ground and avoiding all eye contact. Cameramen and their crew leaned over the police barriers as far as Security would allow them, desperate to catch some sort of action, a glimpse of a face, something to report. Rogue seriously hoped no part of her, identifiable or not, appeared on the Channel 9 news. It was one thing for the X-Men to know she was here, another for them to see how pathetic she was, just standing around. It was going to be a long wait.

* * *

It could've been hours. It could've been minutes. Hell, it could've been days for all she knew. She focused on nothing but the concrete below her, the line moving forward and the thoughts in her head, which were flipping in and out of her mind, without much of a beginning or end. But before she knew it the amount of people behind her was more than twice as large as the amount in front. And soon she could count how many people were ahead of her, the number decreasing by the minutes as each person was let in one by one.

_15…14…13…12…11…10…9…_

Her breath was caught in her throat; her heart was thumping in her ears. She couldn't look at the ground any more; she couldn't focus on anything other than the door that was getting closer and closer with each shuffle forward she was granted.

…_8…7…6…5…_

Whoever went in through the door didn't come back out through it. There must've been a backdoor to the building that they took. To avoid all the crowds. To avoid all the fuss and fear that was included on the way in.

…_4…3…2…_

In some ways it was eerie, like in a horror movie. You see people go in but they never come out. But maybe it was more symbolic in this case. You go in, afraid and with strangers screaming at you from the sidelines, judging you, hating you. You go in as a mutant. Then you come out a whole new person. Human. No pressure, no one to stare, finally free. Going in after all this waiting and turmoil and then coming out in the clear, a fresh start. Wasn't that how Rogue had been viewing this whole thing anyway?

…_1…_

And before she knew it that one last mutant before her, that one last obstacle was gone. Away from the shouting protestors, away from the flashing cameras, away from their powers. Through the door to their salvation. And Rogue was next.

The man at the door towered over Rogue. Dressed in all black and with a series of weapons attached to his belt. Sunglasses covered his eyes and a beanie over his hair. She gazed up at him, waiting. A couple of minutes shouldn't have mattered much compared to how long she'd been waiting already but they seemed to take forever to go by. Her hands were clenched so tightly that she was tearing her skin even through her gloves. _Any second now_ she kept repeating to herself _Any second…_ Until finally:

"NEXT!" The security guard called, staring back down at her and her stomach flipped. "Up the stairs and through door number 6." This was it, it was finally happening. She was too nervous to even smile at the guy as she made her way past him, through the doors and up the stairs that greeted her.

Step by step, her future came closer and closer. She felt so hopeful, so excited, so terrified…

She knew that whatever happened, this really was what she wanted.

Finally, she reached a hallway with a series of doors. She wandered down until she found the oak door with the number 6 engraved on a plaque just below it's blurred window. She put her hand on the handle, took a deep breath and entered.

She entered a place that looked like a waiting room. A bunch of doors stood on each wall and several hallways too. Sitting down on the seats that filled the place were mutants, hands held to their arms and pleased looks on their faces. Rogue wondered if this was just another place to wait, another scene were what she wanted was just out of reach and time wasn't ticking fast enough. But looking around again, these mutants didn't look impatient or desperate. They looked happy. They looked…cured.

She approached the reception desk and waited until the lady finished filing something away before turning to face Rogue. Her blonde hair was tied back in a straight ponytail and thick-framed black glasses sat over her eyes.

"Hi" Rogue said, not quite sure on what else to add. After all, it was clear why she was here.

"Welcome to Warren Worthington Laboratories. First floor, Hallway 2, Section 6. Before you begin, I'll need to ask you a few questions." She blinked up at Rogue, fingers prepared, waiting against the keys of her keyboard

"Err, yes that's fine" Rogue replied nervously

"Ok, now all questions are optional to answer, however we just like to know a few things if you'll allow us. All information is confidential and will be for Warren Worthington Corporation use only, and even then, it's very unlikely your file will ever come into use within the next year and 6 months, after which all patient data we've collected is deleted. Ready?" Rogue nodded "Ok, first of all, name?"

"Marie D'Ancanto" Rogue said and it felt strange to say it again. After all, she hadn't told anyone for so long…

"Age?"

"18"

"Ability?" She hesitated

"Um… power and psyche absorption. Through touch." She said after a moment of thinking.

"Any allergies or medical conditions we should know about?"

"Not unless you plan on serving me shrimp" Rogue tried to make a joke but the receptionist just stared at her "Uh, no. Except… skin-to-skin contact with me could be lethal…" She said, stumbling over her words slightly. The lady raised her thin eyebrows but continued with the questions.

"Past affiliations?" She thought of the school and the X-Men, biting her lip. She grimaced

"Prefer not to disclose," She finally said and the woman nodded, typing away at her computer.

"Emergency contacts?" Another question that made her stop and think for a moment. She could easily list the Institutes number but in that case she may have answered the previous question anyway. She thought of Bobby but didn't want to bring him into this. She even thought of the X-Force but scrapped that idea the moment it touched into her mind. Even if that did make sense, she didn't know their number anyway.

"No" she finally said. This was her thing and she was going to go through it alone. That was her choice.

"Right then. And finally, a personal contact number? Just in case?" The keys clicked against the receptionists fingers as she typed in Rogues mobile number as it was relayed to her. There were a bit more typing and clicks until the woman printed off several sheets and asked Rogue to sign, which she did. She took the signed sheet and stabled it to others, which she put in a large yellow envelope and filed it away. The remaining sheets, she stamped several times and handed to Rogue.

"Miss D'Ancanto, you are patient number 376 and will be aided in room 18 down the hall to your left. Give them those sheets when you enter" Suddenly, her face was lit up by what looked like a truly authentic smile "Worthington Corporation wishes you the best of luck and I hope you have a terrific day"

"I will" Rogue beamed as she walked down the hall, her heart skipping. She reached door number 18, just as all these numbers she was being fed was beginning to hurt her head, and knocked before entering.

The room was quite small without much detail. The walls were white and the eye was instantly drawn to the rather large window displaying a lovely San Francisco view. Inside the room was a plan medical bed, elevated 70 degrees or so, a medical tray beside it as well as a large, cooled glass closet containing several liquids and other items. There was a file cabinet, a desk and some chairs and sitting in one was a kind-looking woman with her dark hair pulled into a tight bun and lab coat on. Also in the room was a male in his early-twenties, slightly scrawny and nervous-looking.

"Hello there" The woman said, getting up from her seat, "My name is Dr. Callaway and this is Nurse Flynn. He'll mostly be an observer over our meeting unless I need his help."

"Hi, I'm… Marie." Rogue said, "I was told to give you these?" She handed her the forms and she slowly read over them, nodding every now and again.

"Yes, yes, this all seems to be in order. Please, lie down, this won't take long at all" She motioned to the bed which Rogue clambered onto and lay back against, the light shining over her. Dr. Callaway sat down in the chair to the left and began to busy herself with the medical equipment. After a moment of silence, she turned to face Rogue, glancing at her documents once again.

"Now it says here you have a lethal touch, is that correct?" She asked, looking over the text again.

"Well, yes, although lethal might not be the best word to describe it…" Rogue said, shifting uncomfortably. But the doctor just nodded

"Not a problem" she said, pulling latex gloves over her hands. "Now, if you could just pull up your sleeves for me…"

Rogue slipped her coat off, and pulled her sleeve up to her shoulder blades while Callaway prepared the needle. She smeared some ointment onto a tissue, which she rubbed against Rogue's bare upper arm

"Now, the needle won't hurt much at all however you will probably experience some dizziness not long after so we'll ask you to sit down in the Waiting Room for at least 15 minutes or until you can walk straight again. Some patients have been known to experience some sharp stomach or muscle pains, however this shouldn't last more than a minute. If it does, you should tell someone immediately for further medical attention. Other symptoms may occur if your mutation has caused some sort of physical changes. For example, if you had horns you may experience discomfort when they shrink back into your skull or if you had a tail it…"

"I don't" Rogue said politely, her nerves leaping. The doctor winked

"Just making sure. You should also be aware that the cure won't come into affect until an hour after it's injected. Now, Miss D'Ancanto…" She picked up the needle that she'd just finished prepping and turned back around to face the young girl. "Are you ready for the beginning of the rest of your life?"

Rogue stared at the clear liquid that bubbled inside the plastic and sharp instrument. In the rooms surrounding her other mutants were experiencing the same nervous feeling that she was, looking forward to their new beginnings. Down the hall, ex-mutants sat with their dizzy feelings and pricked arms, either pleased or regretful of what they'd done. Outside people were lined up for hours, waiting for their chance to be in Rogue's position. Screaming at them from behind police barriers were protestors with their signs and chants and among these mutant-haters, a certain blond X-Man pushed his way through the crowd, looking for his girlfriend amongst the mass of people but instead finding himself an old friend and new enemy with fire in his eyes…

But Rogue wasn't thinking about any of this. She was thinking about how important this moment was right here, about how badly she wanted to touch, to hug, to kiss whether it was with a friend, her boyfriend or a certain Cajun thief she couldn't get out of her head. After this, there would be nothing to stop her.

"Yes." She stated firmly, looking up at the Doctor with eyes glittering "Yes, I'm ready" She was _so _ready.

"Excellent. Just sit back and relax. This won't take a moment…" Rogue took a deep breath and leant back. But just as the doctor gently held her by the arm and went to position the needle something happened to ruin it all.

_**BOOOOM!**_

There was an explosion of fire and, as if in slow motion, the large glass window shattered, throwing shards of glass into the room and everything happened all at once. The desk and the file cabinet both came crashing to the floor. Nurse Flynn received a large blow to the side of the face and threw himself to the floor in an attempt to shield himself. Rogue gasped and was thrown off the bed; landing harshly against the tiled floor while Dr. Carraway fell ahead of her, the needle rolling from her hand and snapping against the wall. The tray of medical supplies toppled over, with things shattering to pieces. The room grew hot as a fire blazed against anything flammable. The fire alarm was screeching in their ears while water sprayed over them from the sprinklers attached to the roof. As the water began to soak her, Rogue stayed against the ground, trying to breathe against the smoke and trying to figure out what the _hell_ had happened. She couldn't make much sense of anything, except that she hadn't gotten her fresh start; she hadn't gotten rid of her deadly touch. She'd just gotten a huge fright and a mouthful of smoke.

She had been so close.

* * *

2 hours later she was sitting in the crowded waiting room with her wet coat pulled closely around her and a bunch of unhealed mutants surrounding her, waiting for answers. Doctors, Firemen and Businessmen made their way in and out as they tried to sort things out.

"Mutant Patient Number 376!" The receptionist finally called Rogue's number after talking to what felt like hundreds of other mutants before her. Heaving a disappointed sigh, she made her way over, where the woman gave a sympathetic smile.

"Warren Worthington Laboratories would like to offer it's apologies over this unfortunate incident" She said, as if it were her hundredth time in saying it (which, to be fair, it probably was) "Due to damages occurred, we only have 4 rooms available for use, which isn't much considering the amount of patients we've been getting lately. We should be back up and running at full capacity in 2 days, however until then, things will be moving rather slowly. I'm afraid that if you wish to get the Cure today, you'll have to rejoin the line…" Rogue's heart sank "And even then, at the rate we'll be going, there's a good chance we'll close before you get in. You could also come back again tomorrow, but once again the wait will be even longer than it was for you today and who knows what could happen. The best I can offer you is a signed form, which, if you come back in 2 days, will allow you immediate entry into one of our rooms. You'd just have to show the Guard at the door the paper and he'd let you through then give me your name and the Doctor will see you straight away. You'd be in, out and done. But in the end, it's completely your choice on what you wish to do."

Rogue sighed and stared down at her shoes. This was so unfair; she'd been _so _close. Now what were her options? Hours back in that torturous queue without guarantee that she'd even get in? Or 2 days of waiting but with assurance of an eventual but definite injection?

Why did this have to be so hard? She just wanted to be normal.

"I guess I'll see you again in 2 days" She sighed and the receptionist gave her another regretful smile.

"Not a problem. Just let me print you out a form…" She clicked away at her computer again and printed an important looking document, which she signed and handed over. "If you take the hall behind me, you'll find the back exit. You can leave that way if you'd like to avoid the crowds outside. Once again, we truly are sorry for this event."

"Yeah, yeah" Rogue murmured "See you in 2 days" She followed the woman's direction through the back hallway, down the stairs and out the back door. She stepped out of the gloomy building and right into the sunny day, with no TV reporters, angry protestors or crowds. But it didn't feel like she'd expected it would because no matter what she'd been greeted with out here, she was still a mutant. She still couldn't touch. She didn't have her fresh start; she had two days in San Francisco with nothing but this feeling of disappointment.

Rogue hadn't been cured; she'd just wasted her time.

* * *

And there's the end of Chapter 5! I hope it wasn't disappointing. And if you want to check out my other story, you're welcome to, although it hasn't been updated since, well, the 1st chapter because I've been focusing more on this one. But hopefully I'll get round to finishing that one too because I have a lot of ideas for it.

Catch ya soon, hopefully!

xo

Lady Hand Grenade


	6. The Rogue Gets Acquainted

Wow, I have an update! Sorry, I always pull a disappearing act. I have so many ideas for this story and I really want to complete it but my motivation is constantly wavering. What can I say; I'm more of a short story writer so committing to something larger is hard on my attention span. I really would love to finish this story but I can't tell how long that will take.

I just want to say I'm sorry and I hope you all haven't given up on me and lost interest.

Well, anyway, onto the next chapter! Let me know of any mistakes and please rate/review (:

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Marvel, the X-Men or any of the characters you see here.

* * *

2 hours later she was sitting in the crowded waiting room with her wet coat pulled closely around her, surrounded by a bunch of unhealed mutants while they waited for answers. Doctors, Firemen and Businessmen made their way in and out of the doors as they tried to sort things out.

"Mutant Patient Number 376!" The receptionist finally called Rogue's number after talking to what felt like hundreds of other mutants before her. Heaving a disappointed sigh, she made her way over, where the woman offered a sympathetic smile.

"Warren Worthington Laboratories would like to offer it's apologies over this unfortunate incident" She recited, as if it were her hundredth time saying it (which, to be fair, it probably was) "Due to damages occurred, we only have 4 rooms available for use, which isn't much considering the amount of patients we've been getting lately. We should be back up and running at full capacity in 2 days, however until then, things will be moving rather slowly. I'm afraid that if you wish to get the Cure today, you'll have to rejoin the line…" Rogue's heart sank "And even then, at the rate we'll be going, there's a good chance we'll close before you get in. You could also come back again tomorrow, but once again the wait will be even longer than it was for you today and who knows what could happen. The best I can offer you is a signed form, which, if you come back in 2 days, will allow you immediate entry into one of our rooms. You'd just have to show the man standing at the door the paper and he'll let you through then give me your name and the Doctor will see you straight away. You'd be in, out and done. But in the end, it's completely your choice on what you wish to do."

Rogue sighed and stared down at her shoes. This was so unfair; she'd been _so _close. Now what were her options? Hours back in that torturous queue without guarantee that she'd even get in? Or 2 days of waiting but with assurance of an eventual but definite injection?

Why did this have to be so hard? She just wanted to be normal.

"I guess I'll see you again in 2 days" She sighed and the receptionist gave her another regretful smile.

"Not a problem. Just let me print you out a form…" She clicked away at her computer again and printed an important looking document, which she signed and handed over. "If you take the hall behind me, you'll find the back exit. You can leave that way if you'd like to avoid the crowds outside. Once again, we truly are sorry for this event."

"Yeah, yeah" Rogue murmured "See you in 2 days" She followed the woman's direction through the back hallway, down the stairs and out the back door. She stepped out of the gloomy building and right into the sunny day, with no TV reporters, angry protestors or crowds. But it didn't feel like she'd expected it would because no matter what she'd been greeted with out here, she was still a mutant. She still couldn't touch. She didn't have her fresh start; she had two days in San Francisco with nothing but this feeling of disappointment.

Rogue hadn't been cured; she'd just wasted her time.

She didn't know how long she spent sitting in the gutter, indulging in self-pity. People walked around her but she didn't look up, even when she felt their eyes burning into the back of her neck. Finally, it seemed as if somebody had decided to approach her because a pair of dark boots suddenly came into her line of vision. But not wanting to come out of her state of misery, she didn't spare them a glance. So, instead, they came to her, kneeling down to eye level. Waking her from her mental slump was the gentle Cajun accent that she didn't know whether to love or hate.

"Feel good t' b' human, chere?" Remy said and she raised her head to see his one eyebrow raised, smug expression.

"I wouldn't know" She muttered listlessly, slouching again, "Half the labs went up in flames- they told me there's no point comin' back for another 2 days"

Remy didn't say anything for a moment, just sat down and joined her in the gutter. A slight pause hovered in the air before he finally broke it

"Well, mus' say, I'm pretty dis'pointed" he smirked and Rogue rolled her eyes. She couldn't say she was surprised

"Listen, I'm really not in the mood to deal with this right now, so if you could just leave me alone that would be absolutely fantastic" She muttered somewhat aggressively. Remy did fall quiet but didn't leave.

"Listen, cherie" He said, his voice soft now, "Y're gon' need a place t' stay fer th' days yer here, an' X-Force ain' gon' mind if y' crash on a bed fer a while..."

"No," Rogue said quickly, nervously "It's alright. I can find somewhere else... a motel or something..." She was thinking about how embarrassing it would be to go back so quickly and wondering how she could survive 2 days with Gambit. But he just interrupted with her

"Think 'bout how many other mutants're gon' be waitin' _deux_ days fer their cure, it ain' gon' be easy to get yerself a room- at leas' not a good one. Bu' we can give y' a comfy bed wit' good people. All y' gotta do is say yes"

Rogue sighed. It did make sense and it did seem better than a park bench, which, considering her funds, seemed to be the next option. She set aside her stubbornness and gave one brief appreciative glance

"Thanks" She said quietly and Gambit grinned

"Pleasure, p'tite" he said "Now, let Remy buy y' a burger"

Remy took her to a simple diner that served burgers better than you could find at a nice restaurant. They sat side by side at the counter, enjoying their food with vigour, as Rogue hadn't eaten all day. As her stomach began to fill up, she slowed down her eating pace and made some small talk.

"So, what really is the deal with the X-Force? What do you guys do, save the city on a weekly basis?" she asked before taking a long swig from her Cappuccino. Remy chuckled.

"Tha's th' plan, one day. Cable wants t' open 'X-Force Investigations', make somethin' outta it, a real detective agency. But righ' now, we got more of a 'freelance police' thing goin'. If we fin' somethin' goin' down, we take care of it. Usually mutant stuff tha' th' cops don' wanna deal wit'. Some o' it small, some a bit o' a bigger deal."

"Like the Morlock Massacre?" Remy blinked at her with surprise before turning back to his burger

"Yeah, thin's like tha'. Guessin' Terry filled y' in?"

"Siryn? Yeah she mentioned it. What's the story there?"

"No' much to it" Remy muttered, staring ahead as he ate, eyes glazed over slightly

"I'm sure there is" Rogue insisted, not quite sure why she was so curious. Remy sighed and rested his food back onto the plate

"'Right. Th' story goes tha' a group- called th'mselves 'Marauders'- raided th' sewers. Began killin' th' Morlocks. Torturin' them, tearin' 'em t' pieces. It was... it was a sight t' see, tha's f'r sure. Horrifyin'. Trust m', Cherie, it ain' like nothin' y' ever seen." He stared down at the bench top, his voice low and chilling. He barely seemed to notice that Rogue was even still there- he spoke as if he was telling the story to air, like no one else existed.

"X-Force arrived too late. Damage bin done. We got rid o' a few o' th' Marauders still hangin' 'round, did a bit o' damage. I saved a girl from bein' tortured t' death. That was Marrow, actually, one who attacked y' that nigh'." He finally looked up at Rogue but it was as though he wasn't really seeing her. His scarlet eyes held a sort of vulnerability in them that sent shivers down her spine. But she just blinked silently at him, waiting. "Don' take tha' personally or anythin'. Life's bin hard f'r her since. Y' can' imagine..." Rogue nodded quickly and he looked back down again.

"Anyway, once th' last of th' Marauders wer' cleared off, the Morlocks wer' pretty much gone too. The ones still alive had run off somewh're. We got help f'r th' injured ones but once they could move again, they all left real quick too, don' know where. Back to th' others, I guess, wherever th' hell that is. As f'r wha' was left well..." He shook his head roughly and cleared his throat "It wasn' pretty, tha's f'r sure. Blood, bones, guts, body parts..." He shuddered at the memory 'Trus' me, words can' describe what I've seen, chere. Anyway, we weren' really sure where dey went- still aren'actually- bu' they've been surfacin' every now an' then. Not f'r anythin' good though. They're a bit pissed. Killin' an' torturin' normal lookin' people. People have bin reported missin', It'sall goin' t' hell really, God knows what they're doin' t' them. We wan' t' help but we have no idea where they are or wha' we can do f'r 'em. Even if we find 'em, they're not gon' listen to us."

Silence fell again and Rogue suddenly wasn't hungry, instead just pushing her food around with her fork. She'd already heard a lot of this from Siryn but the way Remy said it, the tone in his voice, made the reality of it so much clearer. She couldn't even imagine.

"Why" She finally said and Remy gave her a slightly puzzled look

"Why?" He questioned

"Yeah" She said softly, looking back down at her ketchup-drowned fries "Why? Why did it happen?" Remy shifted in his seat uncomfortably. When Rogue looked back up he was staring off into the distance.

"Couldn' tell y', cherie" He shrugged "Sometimes things jus' happen f'r no reason. Horrible things"

His voice was quiet and Rogue stared at him for a while. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling he wasn't being completely honest. But before she could say anything, Remy was getting to his feet.

"C'mon, cherie. Let's head back. Th' team'll b' thrilled 'bout y' stickin' 'round." He made his way to the door and looked back at the still-seated Rogue "Comin'?"

"Yeah" Rogue whispered, digging through her pockets for a couple of crumpled up notes to throw on the counter as a tip. She followed Remy out the door; her mind reeling even more than it had been since she'd first arrived in San Francisco.

The walk back to X-Force was quiet, the silent neither comfortable nor awkward. Rogue focused on the path in front of her so not to catch the stares of the people passing by. It seemed to take twice as long to return than it did to get there and Rogue tried to push for some conversation

"So how did you end up with the X-Force?" She finally asked

"Shatte'star was an ol' frien' I met a couple o' times 'round Mutant Town. When I came int' San 'Cisco he off'red me a place t' stay, t' hide out from Julian and his friends and then they gave m' a spot on th' team" Rogue nodded and didn't say anything more. She wanted to ask more about Julian but also didn't want to be reminded of their first encounter. Not that she'd forgotten. So instead they continued on without saying anything more until they finally reached the door Siryn had let her in through only last night. Remy used a key to unlock and lead her up. He pulled open the door and led her back into the Living room, which was surprisingly not as full as it had been this morning. Boomer and Cannonball were on the couch again watching a Spanish Soap Opera, with her lying down with her head against his lap and Shatterstar was sitting in the spot once filled by Cable reading a book, too absorbed to notice they'd walked in until Remy spoke.

"Look wha' Remy found on th' streets," He said suddenly grinning, nudging Rogue forward. The three in the room all looked at her and she flushed slightly

"Hi," she said meekly

"Seems Rogue 'ere had a li'l trouble at th' labs. A some fire-startin' kid torched half the place an' they told her there wasn' no point goin' back f'r 2 days. So good ol' Gambit offered her anot'er 2 nights stay, if nobody minds?" Remy saved her from having to explain her return and she was grateful for it, not that she'd ever tell him that.

"No problem" Shatterstar smiled before going back to his book

"I ain't got an issue with it" Cannonaball shrugged

"Cool!" Boomer explained sitting up to beam at her. The girls' youthful excitement made Rogue smile.

"Thanks." She said simply, shifting slightly.

"Where's ev'ryone else?" Remy asked, making his way to the fridge to search through it.

"Terry, Domino, Feral and James are working out or training or whatever," Boomer said, "Cable's probably in his 'office'."

"James?" Rogue repeated, as she couldn't remember being introduced to a James. Boomer blinked at her before seeming to realise

"Oh, right! I only introduced everyone by codenames. Sorry, James is Warpaths real name. I'm Tabitha, this here is Sam," she nodded to Cannonball, "Bookworm over there is Gav. Siryn's known as Theresa or even more as just Terry and I'd guess you already know Remy over there. As for Cable, Domino and Feral I don't really know their real names. Or at least I can't remember or something. Anyway, we always just call them their codenames anyway so it doesn't matter."

Rogue nodded, processing all the new information. As if speaking their names had summoned them, Theresa and Domino entered the room looking groomed and showered after their work out.

"Rogue?" Theresa was surprised to see the heavily clothed Mutant back.

"Yeah, yeah, Warren Worthington Labs got half-burnt, cure's postponed for a couple days so Rogue's crashing here," Tabitha said, waving her hand as if the explanation was unimportant. Rogue smiled- Tabitha reminded her a lot of Jubilee and this familiarity made her feel a lot more at ease. "Now let's go get Lunch. Rogue, you should come! We know a place that makes smoothies that'll knock your shoes off"

"Thanks, I'd love to" Rogue couldn't not beam at the offer and Domino and Siryn both nodded kindly.

"Is the Feral coming?" Tabitha asked, almost rolling her eyes at the idea of it. Domino raised a thin eyebrow at her and gave her a look of warning.

"It's just _Feral_, you know that" She said, shaking her head

"Like that's so much better" Tabitha muttered, really rolling her eyes this time but Domino just ignored her.

"No, she wasn't particularly interested when we offered" Theresa said, grabbing the dark red purse set atop the counter. When the two women had their back turned, Tabitha quickly mouthed '_thank God'_ to Rogue, wiggling her eyebrows up and down as she did. Rogue suppressed a chuckle. She jumped up off the couch

"Well, let's go then, I'm starving" she said as she pulled on her shoes. Rogue followed the three of them out the door and back onto the sunny streets she'd just left.

"So, Rogue, you and Gambit seem awfully…cosy" Tabitha smirked, dropping back to walk in time with Rogue, who tried with little success not to flush bright red.

"Don't be silly," she murmured shyly "He's just trying to help me out"

"He's certainly taken a liking to you" Domino commented from ahead of them, "Well, more than he does with any other woman anyway"

"Don't be silly," Rogue repeated, trying to laugh it off and Domino and Theresa exchanged amused looks.

"Meaning you're not interested?" Siryn asked as they arrived at the Café they were eating at- it was only a street away. They took a seat at one of tables outside the door and Rogue laughed nervously

"I'm not exactly available…" she said with a grin, running a hand self-consciously through her hair. The three women all seemed to lean forward eagerly and she was reminded very suddenly of the girl talk time Jubilee and Kitty always roped her into.

"Ooh, so you have a boyfriend" Tabitha said, in a mockingly childish voice with a wink. "What's he like?"

Rogue giggled nervously. She felt surprisingly calm, as if this really was like she was just grabbing a coffee with Kitty and Jubilee, talking about buys and clothes and gossiping about the girls they didn't like.

"His name's Bobby. We met at Xavier's; he's with the X-Men too. They call him Ice Man. First day I ever met him he made me an ice rose out of thin air" Her new friends turned to butter at this and gushed

"Good-looking?" Siryn asked

"Of course!" Rogue smiled, feeling very girly.

"Then looks like Remy will have to step back," Tabitha said, kicking back in her chair "Because sounds like the Rogue is in love"

"It's not as easy as that" Rogue smiled

"No?' Domino asked, coming back from the counter with their smoothies

"It's complicated" she shrugged, taking a sip from what really was the best banana smoothie she'd ever had. She took note of the Café's name, reminding herself to come back here when she next had the chance.

"Trouble in paradise?" Tabitha suggested, downing half of her drink in one gulp.

"Yeah, something like that. My powers are a bit of an issue. They've kind of put a strain on the relationship, only Bobby's too polite to say anything about it"

"What's the strain? What are your powers anyway?" Theresa asked, mixing her smoothie around with her straw

"I'll tell if you tell first" Rogue fired back quickly and they chuckled and each went onto explain what they could do. Siryn, as she already knew, had a sonic scream that could burst your ear drums and could manipulate her voice to allow her to do other things such as flying or hypnotizing her opponent. Tabitha could create 'time bombs' and Domino had amazing good luck, to the point of guessing the correct passwords to things in the first try. Once they'd explained their own abilities, Rogue told them hers, beginning to tire of hearing herself say it.

"Oh, I see" Domino said nodding "So, that's where it gets complicated, you not being able to touch your boyfriend…"

"No hugging, no kissing, no anything else…" she sighed "It's not easy."

The three women all nodded sympathetically, even though it was something none of them could fully understand. It was just as Rogue finished off her smoothie that they heard screaming and commotion coming from the next block.

Siryn, Domino and Meltdown were quick to jump to their feet, suddenly alert.

"Sounds like trouble" Domino said, as the noise grew louder, as if it was happening right by their ears. Rogue could only assume that was Siryn bending the soundwaves to get a better idea of what could be going on.

"Sounds like Morlocks" Siryn said and before Rogue could even blink, she'd taken off into the air, flying towards the sound. Patrons in the seats nearby stared in wonder, some even getting to their feet to get a better look at the soaring redhead but the group of mutants ignored the attention.

"Unfair!" Meltdown muttered as her and Domino took off in a run, weaving between people walking around the city. Rogue was quick to follow after them, not wanting to be left behind. She was a fast runner and quickly caught up but almost lost them again as they turned a sharp corner. They ran down an alley, which opened up at the street they wanted, a giant crowd of panicked looking people just a few metres up from where they'd come out.

They slowed their pace slightly as they arrived at the site, where a gaping hole was left where the road was, water spraying from the pipes below, curious bystanders staring because they couldn't tear themselves away. Spotting the fiery hair of Siryn, the three of them raced up to her.

"What is going on?" Domino demanded and Siryn gave a half-shrug.

"Hard to tell. Seems the whole thing just exploded open. Couple of citizens said they saw some people fly out but God knows where they went. But it definitely screams 'Morlocks'"

"Surprise, surprise" Meltdown muttered, slowly approaching the hole

"Careful, Tabs!" Siryn warned her but Meltdown didn't even glance back. She peered down into the hole for a moment before leaping back again as some sort of monster emerged, rapidly jumping up from the depths only to fall back again. Several people nearby screamed in a mix of terror and disgust. It was hard to get a good glance at the thing but from what Rogue could tell it was quite human looking, but disfigured in similar ways to Marrow. Rogue and Domino raced forward to join Meltdown while Siryn tried to keep crowd control.

"What is going on down there?" Domino asked

"I have no ide- AAH!" Meltdown screamed as something jumped back up, this time grabbing her by the arms and using this leverage to lift itself up.

"H-h-h…" it rasped at them. It was a lot more humanlike than Rogue had first thought; it was merely unwashed, with hair growing everywhere. Its mouth was gaping at a slant and its eyes were dilated almost painfully. It's torso looked to be a regular size but it had stubby arms and legs and was twitchy, moving as if in pain which was likely as it was covered in blood and burn marks all over its bared flesh.

"H-h-h-hel…" sparks flew from its eyes and Meltdown tried viciously to shake it off, thrashing about like a madwoman

"Get _off_ me!" she shrieked, swinging too much for either Rogue or Domino to do anything. The creature started shooting sparks wildly now, like a toaster in a bathtub and just as a large flash seemed to spark from it, Meltdown quickly formed a medium-sized yellow orb in her hand

"Step back" Domino warned Rogue and the two quickly ducked down as Meltdown let the bomb go. It was a small explosion; throwing the disfigured thing far down to where it'd come from and throwing Meltdown back against the road. Panting slightly, she sat up.

"It electrocuted me! That damn thing shocked me!" she said, furiously, rubbing at her arms, which were red and scorched. Siryn raced over to help her up while Domino peered down at the hole from a further distance.

"Seems pretty quiet now. Should we check it out?" she asked

"No way am I goin' near that thing again!" Meltdown said, dusting herself off. "I didn't come out here to get barbequed, I just wanted something to drink."

"It's not really safe to just go wandering through the sewers unprepared anyway" Siryn said, inspecting Meltdowns wounds "let's just head back and report this to the others" Meltdown pulled her arms back to herself, running a hand through her now tousled hair and marching back in the direction they came, pushing past the stunned crowds, ignoring their stares. The rest of the group followed her.

"God, did you see that thing? Why'd it have to attack me anyway, I didn't do anything!" She ranted as they walked

"I don't think it was trying to hurt you" Rogue finally spoke up and all three turned to look at her "I mean… I got the impression it was trying to ask for help." They stared at her quietly for a moment, pondering this idea for a while.

"She could be right. It didn't look too threatening" Siryn added thoughtfully

"Well, nothing we can do about it now anyway" Domino finally said "We'll talk to Cable, see what he thinks. Who knows what the Morlocks are really up to anyway."

"I'll say," Meltdown muttered, irritated "One minute they don't want our help the next they're grabbing us by the arms and begging for it? Nothing makes sense anymore. Must be like a circus down there!"

Once they were back at X-Force Headquarters, Siryn tended to Meltdowns burns while they explained the situation. If they'd hoped the event would give them more answers, they were left disappointed; all it left them with was more questions and the team was even more confused than before. But Cable was onto it, adding notes to his papers and asking questions about every single detail. Finally, Rogue relaxed, just wanting to forget the whole thing. After all, it was X-Forces job, not hers. Once she'd had herself a cup of coffee and a shower, Domino offered to show her where the team went to train. She was surprised at how big the flat actually was as she was led downstairs to a basement that had all sorts of Gym equipment, an obstacle course, several dummies to practice combat on, a climbing wall and even a wrestling ring right in the centre. She had to admit she was impressed.

"Wow, nice set up you got here" she commented and Domino grinned.

"Yeah, it's growing everyday. The regular public Gym wasn't exactly fitting our needs after a while." She showed Rogue where everything was and asked if she needed any help with anything.

"No thanks," Rogue smiled gratefully "I think I'll be fine"

"Cool" Domino made way for the exit "if you need help, give us a call." And she left Rogue alone. She paced around the room, studying it with interest, her footsteps echoing against the stone walls. It was the first time in a long time that she'd felt truly on her own, despite all the people who were only a wall away, despite all the voices in her head, finally she didn't feel the need to be Marie or a Rogue, a mutant or a human, an anything. At that moment, none of it mattered

Strange how a stone basement, some fitness equipment and alone time can do that to someone. But everyone has their sanctuary.

She decided to train on one of the Practice Dummies. These mannequins were mechanical challenges- Domino had briefed her on it. They were a basic combat training device meaning it wasn't meant to be a particular challenge but it would fight back and Domino claimed it was a pretty good work out.

She spun a dial by the Dummy's head to choose her level of difficulty and hit the red button Domino had showed her. The contraption made a beep noise and it seemed she was ready to go.

Her workout started off slow, she threw a hit and a kick and got a hit and a kick thrown right back. But like any good battle, the intensity heightened and the Dummy ended up giving her a good fight, dodging her attacks, getting her with surprise strikes and even twisting her arm behind her back until she managed to use it to throw her legs up and hit its head, triggering her release. She managed to land on her feet and was quick to swing back around and deliver several punches to the things middle before it quickly rolled back and, even more swiftly, forward again, colliding with Rogue and knocking her onto the ground. Lifting her head up, she took advantage of a bad situation and delivered a very fast, very hard kick to the Dummy's groin- or at least where it would be if it were human. And as if she'd hit some invisible off button, the machine gave another loud beep and the robots head spun around two full circles before falling limp. Rogue couldn't help but laugh. Seems mechanical or blood and flesh- they all had the same weak spot.

As she clambered back to her feet, combing a hand through her messy hair, she heard clapping behind her, the applause echoing around the room. She turned around and was not surprised to find the source of the noise was Gambit, sitting on a nearby bench, where he'd apparently enjoyed the show.

"Nice work, cherie" He said, sounding a little impressed as well as his usual smugness, "X-Men taught y' some things." Rogue gave him a dry smile

"Have you made it your hobby to follow me around the place?" She commented, leaning over the rail nearby and raising her eyebrow questioningly. He chuckled under his breath

"Y'd love tha' wouldn' y', cherie?" Rogue just rolled her eyes and turned away, grabbing a nearby towel to wipe her face with. "Y'know, y' coulda used some o' those moves on _mon ami _Julian few months back" He got up from his seat and went to lean against the rail she was standing on the other side of. Rogue just shook her head

"I prefer not to punch out guys with guns. Figure a more subtle approach would work in my favour." She shrugged "And he didn't exactly seem like he was a friend of yours anyway"

"Hmm, no" Gambit said, thoughtfully "Y' got that righ'. But me an' Julian, we gotta whole lotta hist'ry. Things jus' wen' a bit downhill"

"Yeah, no kidding" Rogue muttered as pages of Remy's memories flipped through her mind "Smart move, getting yourself in the bad books of a potential brother-in-law" It took a moment for Gambit to register her words but when he did, a look of surprise lit up his features. Rogue leaned over the rail he had his back against

"We've all got secrets, Gambit" She said quietly, voice right by his ear "But I got a feeling you've got a couple more than everybody else" It was her turn to smirk and, swinging her towel over her neck, she began to walk off.

"Rogue!" He called after her and she stopped, looking over her shoulder quizzically. He paused for a moment before crossing his arms and smiling sneakily

"How 'bout y' show Gambit what other tricks they taught y' at tha' school." He nodded his head towards the wrestling ring in the middle, brow raised "Can y' spare a thief a battle?"

Looking from Gambit to the ring and back to Gambit, a grin slid its way onto her lips. She turned around to face him, throwing her towel to the side.

"You're on, Swamp Rat" she snapped competitively, cracking her knuckles and approaching the ring.

There was no way she was passing up a chance to kick this Cajuns' ass.

* * *

I hope it didn't disappoint. I wasn't 100% sure on my own opinion of this but then again I never am but I'd love to hear yours so let me know what you think.

And I'd like to apologize once again about the lateness and also about my terrible job of Remy's accent. It's been a while and I know it hasn't been great in any of this but I swear I'm trying to work on it. I was thinking about re-editing it again but it's 2 a.m. here and I really wanted to get this up for you guys.

Thanks for reading

Xx Lady Hand Grenade


	7. Into the Tunnels

I am the Invisible Woman...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Marvel, The X-Men or any of the characters you see here.

* * *

They stood on opposing sides of the ring, eyeing each other off, Remy harbouring his usual playful smirk while Rogue just rolled her eyes. The agreement had been for a no powers, physical fight- at Remy's suggestion, of course. Not that Rogue could make any promises, considering the nature of her abilities. Remy raised his brow in a manner that could be considered either challenging or flirtatious. In his case, it was probably both.

"Ready, chere?" he questioned, and Rogue shifted her feet in an offensive position.

"Ready to kick your ass, Cajun!"Rogue teased, raising her fists ready. Gambit imitated her stance. With a wink of his eye, the fight had begun but Rogue moved in fastest, lunging forward with a well-delivered punch to the shoulder, followed closely by a kick to the shins, sending him onto his knees. She made a movement to bring her elbow down to his collarbone but Gambit reacted too quick and managed to evade the attack and rolled to the side. Put off balance, she stumbled forward slightly and he took this opportunity to easily kick her legs out from under her. As she fell, she managed to sloppily flip back over and just managed to landed on her knees, quickly getting back up again. The fight escaladed to Rogue throwing a collection of speedy punches in a row, all of which were blocked by Gambit's flat palms until she pulled her fist further back and around toward his side. Unfortunately, he saw it coming and managed to duck down and retaliate by barging forward and tackling Rogue. She staggered backward but as she came crashing to the ground, she managed to swing her legs up and, surprising herself with her own strength, throw Gambit to the other side of the ring, where he landed heavily and ungracefully. Catching each other's eyes, they both raced to get back to their feet while trying to regain their breath. Gambit was fastest and threw a roundhouse kick in her direction, which Rogue tried to deflect but failed and went crashing into the side, grabbing onto the ropes that fenced them in to stay on her feet. An idea lighting up in her head, she leaned back against the side, and by putting all her weight against the ropes, managed to scissor kick her legs into the air hit Remy below the jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Rogue then rushed forward to deliver another punch to his stomach, forcing him onto the ground. The triumphant gleam in her eye was only momentary until Gambit, in one lightning-quick motion, managed to grab a hold of her covered wrist and swing her to the side. Spinning around, and trying to stay balanced, she raced towards Gambit, lunging forward, her fist raised and ready, but by reacting quicker than she could, Gambit managed to grab her arm and flip her right over, making her land hard against the mat, and then quickly pinned her down, while she struggled to escape his grip. She tried kicking her legs at him but he had her in a good hold until finally, she relaxed slightly as they both took a moment to slow their heart rates. Her line of sight raised to meet Gambit's scarlet gaze, and they both fell quiet.

"Don't." Rogue said, completely aware of the closeness of their faces and hoping her voice didn't quiver as she said it. Remy's face remained emotionless as he stared and she took a long breath, but still felt out of air. "Don't." She repeated, her voice stronger this time.

"Don' what, p'tite?" Remy growled quietly, a different spark in his eye than what she was used to. There was a pause in the air as Rogue didn't say anything, but she was sure his face was edging closer. "What're y' afraid of?"

"It's not me who should be afraid" She managed to breathe out, almost coolly, but still not wavering her gaze, as if their battle had turned into a staring contest instead. Before either of them could decide what to do next, there was the sound of the door opening and Tabitha's voice carried through the basement.

"Remy?" She called, "Remy, you down here?" with something to finally break the silence, Rogue began struggling beneath his grip again, almost guiltily but Remy didn't move, still watching her eyes.

"Remy, I know you're down here! Come on, Cable wants to talk to you!" Tabitha's voice had been quick to grow irritated, "I don't want to have to come down there!"

Finally, Remy let Rogue go and she quickly clambered to the other side of the ring, taking slow breaths as she ducked under it to get her things.

"Looks like we gon' have t' finish this anot'er time, cherie" Remy was back to his playful self again, and Rogue looked back to catch his no longer intense, but now innocently flirtatious eyes. She didn't say anything and he shrugged, grabbed his coat, and turned to wander up the steps. "Relax, Boomer, Remy's comin'" and he disappeared into the light of the doorway. Finally alone, Rogue sat down, took a deep breath and flopped back against the bench. She was really beginning to wish she could make herself hate that thief, but he was making it harder and harder.

* * *

Like bad habits die hard, Rogue couldn't sleep again. Tossing and turning in her bed, every time she closed her eyes there was no peace, only dark and disturbing images of blood, bodies and screams, so brief and blurred that she couldn't piece it all together or even work out where in her mind it was coming from but it still troubled her enough to keep her awake. She gazed helplessly up at the ceiling, afraid to even blink, her hands shaking slightly. Her room seemed suddenly darker and smaller and the moon was making strange shapes through her window. She shuddered. Remy's soft voice floated through her mind _"What're y' afraid of?" _and she couldn't help but wonder the same thing herself. Where had all this fear come from? What had happened to the Rogue who had hijacked the X-Jet to try and be a hero, the Rogue on all her missions and Danger Room sessions, Rogue the X-Man? She didn't even know who she was anymore but she was sick of asking herself these questions. She clenched her eyes shut, but again she was met with violent images that turned her stomach and snapped them open again. "_Torturin' them, tearin' 'em t' pieces. It was... it was a sight t' see, tha's f'r sure. Horrifyin'. Trust m', Cherie, it ain' like nothin' y' ever seen." _Remy's words found there way into her head again, something that seemed to be happening a lot lately. She looked at the clock. It was just before midnight, early as far as she was concerned, but the house had fallen completely quiet within the last half hour. Stealing one more glance at the odd shapes taunting her from the light hitting the wall, Rogue got out of bed. There was no use waiting for sleep that would never come when she had other ideas about how she could spend her night, and she decided to take action for once rather than spend another hour obsessing over the idea. Quiet as a mouse, she tiptoed into the hallway, which was dim with light coming from one bedroom down the hall- she didn't know whose- and a light from Cable's office, which she ignored. Creeping silently further down the hall, she stopped before the door that she was sure belonged to Remy's room. The lights were out but the door was ajar so, very cautiously, Rogue pushed the door open and peeked in, trying to ignore the doubt that was welling up in her chest.

She saw a glint of bright red, which she recognized immediately to be those hypnotic eyes of his and her suspicions that he was the type who didn't get a lot of sleep were confirmed.

"Remy?" She was barely even whispering but she'd figured he'd already noticed her there. At her voice, he turned to face her, a ray of light catching half of his face, which was mingled with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

"Rogue?" he questioned, as if it could be anyone else. She stepped further into the room and as she did the light got better and she could just make out his whole face, and the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her cheeks felt hot but she was sure he wouldn't notice in the dark.

"Hi." She said, uncertainly followed by a pause. Then, because she couldn't think of what else to say, "I was worried I'd wake you."

"What're y' doin', cherie?" he sounded a little amused now "Remy don' think y'hre in here fer th' reason he'd like y' t' be."

She ignored him.

"I wanted to ask you something." She went on, slowly, "Earlier today, when we were at that diner and you were talking about that thing that happened in the sewers? That massacre?"

Remy's smirk disappeared and his face grew dark again. "Yeh." He grumbled, as it clearly wasn't his favourite topic of conversation. Rogue took a deep breath and continued

"I wanted…I was wondering… if you could, if you wouldn't mind… take me there?" She breathed out the last three words as if they were a sigh of relief but her shoulders still tensed up when Remy leant back and his face disappeared into the shadows so she couldn't read his expression. There was a long pause.

"Why?" He finally growled, not as though he was angry with her for asking, but the humour had definitely disappeared from his tone. Rogue shifted uncomfortably.

"I've just got… I mean, I want to… to…" she stuttered with her words before taking a big gulp of air. "I just can't explain it. But it's something I want… no, not want, no. Something I think I need to see." There was another long pause.

"I've told y', cherie, y' don' wanna see." His voice was softer now, as if he could sense the nerves she had from asking. Rogue hesitated

"I know it must be awful and I'm sorry to even be asking you but…" she shrugged helplessly "I don't know how to explain it. I just had to ask." Silence hung in the air once again and she quickly added, "I can handle it."

"I know." He said, quietly, and Rogue wondered if it was maybe he who was the one who couldn't. Neither of them said anything until, finally, he shifted from his position and stood up. Rogue took this as a yes and quickly looked down so she wouldn't be caught staring at his chest. He grabbed a shirt thrown carelessly over a nearby chair and put it on and throwing his trademark brown trench coat over his shoulders before turning to face her again and sighing.

"C'mon then, p'tite. But don' say Remy didn' warn y'." Rogue nodded quickly and holding her arms close to her chest, followed him quietly out the door.

The streets were dark, lit only where streetlamps hit the sidewalk with dim light but Remy and Rogue were walking down the middle of the road. It was cold and the silence surrounding them had an eerie feel to it. Rogue shuddered.

"Not so many people out tonight?" she murmured, nervously. She was already on edge; the lack of noise didn't help.

"Mos' people are scared." He said without looking at her and Rogue shivered again. Something just didn't feel right. Maybe this was a bad idea but it was too late now. They walked the rest of the way in wary silence, around several turns and down a few alleys.

It felt like forever until Remy's pace finally quickened, as if he was walking with much more purpose and he led her to the middle of the road and stopped in front of a covered manhole. Rogue stared down at it as Remy knelt down and began to shift it from its place.

"We're going through _there?_" Rogue failed to stop herself from blurting out. Remy just shrugged

"Shortcut" He uttered, not even sparing a glance.

"No kidding" Rogue muttered but knelt down beside him anyway, helping him push the manhole cover aside. A thick, putrid odour had already began emanate from the circular opening, as if foreshadowing what was to come. Rogue recoiled slightly.

"How do we go down?" She asked, peering into the darkness enough to notice the railings of the ladder that came up the edge.

"Ladies first, cherie" Remy suggested, smirking playfully and Rogue felt a hint of relief that he was back to acting like the Remy she'd been growing fond of, rather than the dark, sullen type.

"I don't think so!" Rogue protested, "You're the one who's leading the way!" Remy gave a low chuckle and shrugged before turning to lower his legs down the hole, finding the ladder and beginning his descent into the shadows. Rogue watched him, biting her lip in hesitation until he was several steps down and turned his head up to face hers, eyes shining bright in the dark light.

"What y' waitin' fer, p'tite?" He called up at her and Rogue took a large gulp of air before cautiously turning and dropping herself down the manhole, managing to find the appropriate steps on the ladder and slowly following Remy further down into the abyss.

The lower the got down the ladder, the closer they were to their destination and the worse the smell got. Even when she wasn't taking her tiny, dreaded breaths, the stench still filled her nostrils and suffocated her with its unpleasantness. The air around them grew hot and Rogue suddenly felt very unwelcome. Her stomach was doing uneasy back flips and her eyes grew watery and itchy. But she just clenched them shut and continued on.

Just when Rogue was beginning to think the atmosphere was becoming too much for her to handle, she heard the light thud of Remy's feet hitting concrete ground, meaning they must have arrived. She stepped down the last few steps before stopping completely, as if frozen to the ladder, heart pounding in her ears.

"Rogue?" Remy's voice was soft and even a little afraid. Rogue finally blinked her eyes open and they stung in the thick air. She realised that was a little more light than before and her eyes quickly adjusted but all she could see was the concrete wall she was still facing.

"Rogue?" Remy repeated and as if coming back to her senses, Rogue began a clumsy exit off the ladder before feeling his thick hands on her waist as he lifted her and brought her down beside him. Rogue went to murmur her thanks however her words were drowned by the scream that erupted from her throat at the scene that lay before her. She quickly slapped a hand to her mouth to silence herself, her eyes round with shock.

"Told y', cherie" Remy breathed and Rogue turned to face him. "It ain' pretty."

Rogue had seen a lot of awful things with the X-Men but none of them came close to the horrific sight before her. With rotting flesh, bones, and guts crowding the concrete floor and blood smeared across the walls, visible even in the dimness. The river of sewerage that ran through the tunnels was full of body parts. There were stains of red, black and brown everywhere and what looked to be a decayed corpse was pinned up against the concrete wall, an array of bones and organs, dripping some sort of rotten fluid down the wall.

Rogue's heart had plunged to her knees. Her head was spinning and she felt like she was going to be sick. The air wasn't just full of awful smells anymore; it held a sense of disturbance and evil. She was shaking; she wish she'd never even asked Remy to show her this. If she'd known… she should have known better.

Suddenly, she felt Remy's hand wrap around her gloved one in a calming manner. Her shivering subsided a little bit but she still felt ill. She clenched her eyes shut and all of a sudden, the rest of the world seemed to slip away as her mind was obscured by a series of images and sounds and thoughts that didn't belong to her.

_'In horror, he watched as mutants were being slaughtered left, right and centre. Over in the corner, a large animal-like man broke the neck of a young, black-haired woman, her scream vibrating off the concrete walls. Light suddenly flashed through the room as an electricity-powered mutant was thrown into the river, his powers rising beyond control. The place was filled with yells and shrieks. Pain and regret and shame and disgust plagued his insides till they hurt._

_What had he done?_

_The head of a young, decapitated mutant rolled his way in a trail of blood and that was when he turned and ran, further through the tunnels, toward even more chaos and hatred. Something hit the back of his neck and it burned with pain but he just ran faster, the sight of Morlocks being cut and hung and pounded and tortured passing by him. His breath was caught in his throat and he spluttered, stumbling forward. What was he doing?_

_He had to do something. He had to stop this._

_He'd progressed through the tunnels and there was no change, just the same killings and terror everywhere. Pulling out his deck of cards, he glanced around for a target, the cards already glowing in his hands. However, before he could even make one hit, something large and hairy barrelled into him, crushing him against the wall. The malicious face of Sabretooth filled his vision, teeth bared._

_"What do you think you're doing there, Gambit?" He said viciously "Wouldn't be trying to be a hero, would you? Wasn't it you who led us here in the first place?"_

_"No!" He breathed, furiously "I didn' start this! Sinister…" But Sabretooth just laughed in his face, spit flying into his eyes._

_"Who're you trying to convince here, me or you?" He laughed louder, the sound booming around them. Gambits face grew hot but he took this chance to flick the still lit playing card, into the air. It exploded just as it went by Sabretooths' ear and the blast knocked him back enough for Remy, almost blinded by the light, to kick him off. He didn't stick around; he knew this wouldn't be a fight he could win, especially with the new mind blocks he had to keep his powers in control. So, he ran again. He hated himself, hatred tearing through his every emotion, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He would never win, he was just one man. One stupid, stupid man. But as he ran, he heard a sound that couldn't be ignored. The high-pitched screams of a little girl. Stopping and spinning around, he caught sight of one of the marauders holding a lit up sphere to a young Morlock, tears streaming down her face, which was decorated with an array of pointed bones. He knew he couldn't just leave her to be brutally killed so, quick as lightning; he skidded up behind the Marauder and grabbed him from the neck, pulling him back. The girl was released and fell to the ground, while Gambit tightened his grip around the enemy's neck, another playing card already a lit in his hand. The Marauder went to raise his weapon, his mouth open as he made choked-up gasps for air. Quickly, Gambit shoved the playing card down his throat and threw him head first into the stone wall, the sphere cutting his side slightly, but he just turned around, grabbed the girl and ran. And he didn't plan on stopping until she would be safe. That was all he could do.'_

"Dis isn' even the worst of it," Remy's voice brought Rogue back to her own body and suddenly, she jerked her hand away from his, taking a large breath of air, then choking on it. Remy looked at her in surprise, but she just stared back in fear and horror. Neither said anything for a moment until finally;

"C'mon, cherie, let's go. Remy don' like bein' here…"

"Remy, what did Sinister ask you to do?" He froze at her hushed and frightened tone. Just stared at her, perfectly still, eyes round and shaken. Opting for a change of attitude, Rogue stepped forward and placed her hands on his forearm.

"His favour, Remy. What was his favour?" She whispered, softly but seriously. Remy didn't move, not the slightest for several minutes until finally;

"How d'y'…" his words trailed off and his eyes fell to the ground.

"You can trust me, Remy" Rogue said, tightening her grip on his arm, "You can't hate yourself, this wasn't your fault!"

"No, Rogue," his tone dripped with sadness and pain and he didn't look up to meet her eyes. "It is. I jus' didn' know what I was doin'…"

"Remy…" Rouge said, gently, stepping closer, "It's ok. You can tell-"

Her words were interrupted by a shriek that bounced against the walls, making both of them jump in fear.

A shape emerged from the shadows, emitting tortured and whining sounds of pain. It limped closer, shrieking and snarling and as a ray of dim light hit its face, Rogue screamed and grabbed Remy's hand again.

It seemed to resemble a person, but disfigured and grotesque, limps sticking all over the place, twisted and scarred. Its face was a mangled mess of features, blood and all twisted into an expression of agony. Its eyes were mere slits and their head was bruised and swollen as if it had been severely beaten. It stumbled closer and closer while Rogue and Remy backed away, her grip so tight on his hand she was sure she'd break it but she didn't let go.

"H-h-heeeeeeelp" the _thing_ rasped, desperate. Remy made a noise of surprise and Rogue noticed its face was stained with what might have been tears of despair. It began to reach a twisted and mangled arm out and Rogue recoiled.

_"Pleeaasee…"_ It spluttered and the two of them stood in uncertain silence. Then, before they could even think of what to do next, there came a blinding flash of orange light and a cracking _BOOM!_ Rogue almost jumped out of her skin and they turned to face another shadowed figure, wielding a ball of flames, dark hair flying everywhere and a look of pure malice on their lit up face.

"NO!" Their voice boomed with hatred and the fire struck the disfigured monster that had been pleading for help. It released an ear-splitting scream and Rogue threw her arms up to shield her face. She peeked over just enough to see Remy pull half a pack of cards from his trench coat pocket, light the entire thing and throw it with all his might toward the blazing stranger. He didn't even pause to see what happened just pulled Rogue toward the ladder out.

"Y' don' wanna stick 'round fer this, cherie!" he said, lifting her up to the ladder where she climbed as fast as her hands and feet would move. There was a large explosion from Remy's attack that brushed past her ears, followed by a furious yell but the two of them just kept going until they reached the road and Rogue lifted herself clumsily onto the asphalt, lying down for a few moments, staring up at the starry sky.

Remy kicked the manhole cover back over the hole and came to stand over her. She looked up at his face, which displayed a look of concern, and took a deep breath

"Whoa." It was all she said and Remy gave a forced sounding chuckle.

"C'mon. Better clear th' area" He said, helping her to her feet so they could start the walk home.

"I thought you said the morlocks didn't want help?" Rogue asked after a short pause, in which they'd mulled over what had happened. Remy was staring thoughtfully at the ground, as though he too had been pondering the monsters pleas for help.

"Didn' think they did" He admitted, doubtfully. Rouge remembered the dramatic scene that had occurred in town with Siryn, Boomer and Domino. She had a sense that something just wasn't right.

"Maybe there's more to it than you think?" She suggested, not even completely sure what that could mean. Remy gave a slow nod

"Maybe…" he trailed off distractedly and their previous silence resumed. Rogue was shivering again; the events of the night had shaken her to the core. Noticing her distress, Remy reached and grabbed a hold of her hand again and she instantly felt herself calm down. She took a deep, cold breath. She knew she could spend the rest of the walk home trying to analyze Remy's motive with this simple gesture but she was too tired and sick of over thinking everything. She just accepted it as a sign of comfort and allowed herself to move a bit closer and relax. They didn't say a thing the whole way back and they didn't need to. There was nothing else to say, for now.

Once they were back at X-Force HQ, they each uttered their goodnights and Remy disappeared into his bedroom while Rogue instead found the bathroom and with a rush of all that happened, threw up into the toilet.

She lay on the ground for about an hour, eyes half-closed trying to keep her mind calm and her stomach settled. Once she'd finally decided she'd got it all out of her system, she washed her face and brushed her teeth and returned to her bedroom

She'd gotten this idea in her head that facing her problems would help her through them but the only difference made was that the images of blood and guts that flashed behind her closed eyes were no longer someone else's. They came directly from her own memory, along with screams and mutilated figures. A shiver ran down her spine and she prayed for these final two days to be over quickly so she could be cured of this mess. She was confused and alone and had no idea what she doing.

Then she thought of Remy and felt a little bit better. She knew her emotions were mixed up at the moment but she didn't want to obsess needlessly about them anymore, or about Bobby. She didn't want to think about anything for a while. Everything was changing around her and she pushed all her usual questions and doubt aside and told herself that all she really needed was a sort of reassurance, like what Remy gave her and it was time to stop resisting his friendship. That was all. Wasn't it?

With these thoughts in mind, it was enough to numb all the bad stuff that was trying to crowd her head. With these thoughts in mind, Rogue finally managed to close her eyes and fall into an almost decent sleep.

* * *

It's 1 a.m., why do I never update at a reasonable hour?

Once again, I apologise deeply for the usual. Gambits accent, any editing mistakes I may have missed and the eternity that comes between my updates, which go beyond any sort of schedule or pattern. I am so sorry, I adore writing this story and I get so many absolutely lovely reviews (thank you so much!) but this story serves as my writers block/boredom cure so I never know when the Romy plot bunny will strike :/

But I really hope you enjoy it anyway (: Leave me a review to tell me what you think, offer some constructive critisism if you'd like or just a nice message telling me if you liked it, they always brighten my day just a little (:

Lady Hand Grenade


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